Metal Gear Solid 4: Dead Heaven
by Dark Sploosh
Summary: Snake and Otacon finally learn where Olga's child is. Snake is sent in to rescue the child. A sequel to SOL. Contains everything that makes a MGS game, including complicated plot lines, cool weapons, and insane bosses. Chp 22 is up!
1. Prologue: The THOR Complex

Author's Note: Well, this is my version of the sequel to Sons of Liberty (because Snake Eater was a prequel). Keep in mind that I have NOT played Metal Gear ACID, so if that game has any bearing on the official plot line of the series, I wouldn't know. As such, this fic does not have anything to do with ACID. So, please enjoy...

Note 2: I've revised this chapter with help from Aden Onitsuka, as well as put in a mention about Snake's sneaking suit that I forgot the first time around, and explained why the guards have silenced guns. Thanks Aden.

Update: I got myself a copy of MGS2, and I've been playing it nonstop. I should be safe as far as plot goes, but I could still make a mistake, so please let me know.

Metal Gear Solid 4:  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Prologue: The THOR Complex

The year was 2014.

It had been five years since the incident at the Big Shell. The whole thing was covered-up, of course, explained to the public that Arsenal Gear a new type of ship the government was testing. They said that it had accidentally crashed ashore during the test. Solidus Snake's body was taken from the scene. Arsenal Gear itself had been removed from the harbor and taken to a military research base. The public hadn't suspected a thing.

Just like the Patriots had wanted. The Wiseman's Council may have been long dead, but the Patriots had gone on. Gone on ruling America in the shadows. Manipulating the government and the people.

The man known as Solid Snake wasn't thinking about any of this at the time. He was more focused on what he had to do: find Olga Gurlukovich's child. He had made a promise to Olga, and he intended to keep it.

**_Solid Snake (David Hayter)_**

Last week, Otacon had gotten info from "anonymous sources" about the child.

"Anonymous sources?" Snake had asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice. "You never take tips, and the last time you did it turned out to be your sister."

"Snake, I cross checked the info with some files Mei-Ling found on the internet," Otacon clarified. "It's all accurate. There is a Patriot complex in southern Ohio, and we're sure that that's where the child is."

"Fine, but what's he doing there?"

"_She_ is there because the Patriot's want her there."

"She? I thought it was a boy?"

"Olga never said. But the name of the child mentioned in the files was Anya Gurlukovich. I think it's safe to say it's a girl."

"Maybe. It could have been a false name. This whole thing could be wrong."

"Snake, I wouldn't be telling you this if I wasn't sure."

Snake grumbled. "Okay. But who gave you the tip?"

"Like I said, it was anonymous. The person left a signature: AC."

"Another relative of yours?"

"No. It couldn't be. Anyways, that's not the point Snake. We need to get the girl out."

"Right. And how are we going to do that exactly?"

"We're sending you in of course. You go in and get her out. Simple for you, right?"

"Do I make everything I do look that easy?"

"Sort of, yeah."

"Well, it won't be. We don't know anything about the complex. How well is it guarded for example?"

"Relax. Mei Ling's watching it on one of our satellites. They got a small army, about forty or fifty men. A fair amount of weapons and security too. But we can handle it Snake."

"I don't know."

"You want to save Olga's daughter, right?"

Snake grumbled, realizing he had been caught.

"Yeah."

"Good. Then let's get to work..."

Snake looked back on that conversation and shook his head. How did Otacon get him into situations like this? Snake looked around. He was currently hiding in the back of a supply truck that was heading down a long gravel driveway. It was the evening, and it was getting dark. There was nothing but empty plains to the south on him. To the north, where the complex was supposed to be, was a small valley covered in woods. It was April. The trees were still mostly bare, and the ground was still covered with orange leaves, but the weather had warmed up and the animals had returned to the woods.

"Hey Snake," said Otacon over the codec. It was a new model that Otacon had perfected. Snake no longer had to hold his fingers to his ear to hear. All he had to do was think what frequency he wanted and _bam,_ he was patched through.

"How's it going Otacon?"

"Just great. Where are you now?"

"I'm hiding in one of the supply trucks you directed me to. I'm heading down the driveway to the complex now."

"Good. From what we've gathered, the whole place is surrounded with some kind of invisible force field."

"Force field?"

"It's an expression, but I'm not sure what's keeping people out. I just know that something bad would happen if you just tried to waltz over."

Snake got up from his crouch. There were some boxes in his way, but he could see well enough out of the truck.

"There's a small fence, probably electric, but it looks like anyone could just walk around it. There's no other fences or anything."

"Weird."

Snake quickly ducked back down as the truck slowed to a stop. He lifted himself up just the smallest bit to peek out. There was a guard who had stopped the truck. Snake got out his binoculars and zoomed in on the guard.

"Otacon, the guards here are well armed. They've got M4A1 carbines, and fragmentation grenades."

"Remember, these are the Patriots, they can get almost whatever they want." Otacon stated it like it was something everyone should know.

"Doesn't look like they're wearing any body armor," pointed out Snake, ignoring Otacon's sarcastic comment, "they must not be expecting an attack."

"Well, this is a stealth mission anyways, not a full-scale assault."

"Right." Snake zoomed in farther to get a good look. It was getting dark quick, and he would have to start using the night vision feature of the binoculars. "Hmm, the carbines are suppressed. Makes sense, they probably don't want any of the locals to hear anything suspicious."

"And since the Patriots are top secret, they'd run into trouble with any local authorities."

The guard seemed to give the truck the go ahead. As it sped off, Snake realized that the

guard would be able to see him in the back of the truck as it pulled away. Snake quickly drew the silenced Beretta M92F, modified for tranq rounds, that Otacon had given him. He leapt out of the back of the truck. The guard saw him and reached for his radio. Snake brought up the gun and fired a dart straight into the guard's head. The man's hand fell limp, followed by his entire body. Snake grabbed the man and dragged him into a large clump of nearby bushes. Then he cocked the Beretta, it being single action, and ducked behind a nearby tree. The driver of the truck hadn't noticed a thing.

"Otacon, I had to take out the sentry at the main gate. He's out like a light."

"Okay Snake, you should be near the southeast corner of that electric fence you mentioned. The driveway curved around it and leads to complex, which you should be able to see."

"Yeah, it's about a hundred yards in front of me."

"Good. Now then, I need to explain a few things. First, your equipment. You've got the same sneaking suit that you had on the Big Shell, so that's covered."

"Why didn't I get any stealth camo this time around?" Snake questioned.

"It has something to do with that "invisible force field" I mentioned. Whatever it is, it's giving off some pretty heavy electric jamming. It would have rendered the stealth camo useless."

"Electric jamming? How does this place have communications, then?"

"I'm not sure about that. They must have proofed their equipment or something. I managed to do that to your codec at least, but your soliton radar isn't the same. So, no radar this time around I'm afraid."

"Hmm, a challenge," said Snake in an amused voice.

"You need to get used to being without it anyway. It's good to learn how to make do without your usual comforts once in a while."

"Right. What about the "force field?" Snake questioned.

"You need to find out about that yourself. But whatever you do, don't try to leave the perimeter of the complex. The guard must have deactivated it somehow to let the truck pass, but it's back up now. Now, about the rest of your equipment.

"As I mentioned, you can't use your soliton radar this time around. So, you'll have to rely on your instincts to get you through. Your weapons include the usual tranq gun. You know all about that, so I'll move on. You also have a combat knife, which I would prefer you use instead of your fists if you can. Works better."

"I'm more used to my hands."

"Well, you should always try new things. Don't go overboard though and paint the place red though," Otacon cautioned.

"Please, I have some level of common sense."

"I hope so. Other than that, you're gonna' have to find all your other weapons and equipment at the THOR complex."

"THOR complex?"

"Yeah, that's what it's called."

"Is THOR an acronym?"

"Maybe. I don't know what it means."

"Great. What about my support team?"

"Well, there's me of course. My frequency is 180.23. Mei Ling's also here with us to keep track of your vital signs, monitor your progress, and save your mission data as usual."

Mei Ling's cheerful voice floated into Snake's ear.

"Hey Snake, it's been awhile since we've worked together on a mission, hasn't it?"

"Um, we broke into that warehouse in Oregon last month to find some info on new Metal Gear models, remember?"

"Well, it feels like awhile. Too bad we didn't find anything, huh?"

"I'm sort of glad I don't have to fight another one of those things anytime soon."

"Yeah, I guess. Anyways, my frequency is 184.65 this time around, okay? Contact me if you need anything. Bye!"

Otacon's voice returned.

"We also got ourselves a weapons specialist for hire to help you out with your guns. His codename's Gunsmith. I'll patch you through to him."

There was a small static noise, and then Snake heard the voice of a young male with a middle-eastern accent.

"Hello Snake. This is Gunsmith. Nice to meet you."

"You too. So, you're a freelancer?"

"Naturally. I find that being a gun-for-hire is more fun than being tied down to any one army. I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed when I learned I wouldn't be seeing any action this time, but your friend, what was it, Oat-a-cone? He offered me a good deal of money. So I can't complain."

Snake chuckled a bit at the mispronunciation of Otacon's name.

"Well, it's nice to hear a new voice in my head."

"Voices in your head are dangerous Snake. I'd watch out if I were you."

What had Gunsmith meant by that? He had to have known that Snake meant the codec.

"Right. So, how can I contact you?" asked Snake after a pause.

"I'm at 187.99. Give me a call whenever. I know so much about guns it's crazy."

"I'll be sure to do that."

"Okay Snake," said Otacon, "the only thing left to do is let you know about your objectives. Obviously, you need to get Anya out of there alive. But you mustn't get yourself caught. Remember, they threatened to kill Anya back during Big Shell. They may still go through with it if they realize you're trying to save her."

"Let's hope not. I'm not about to break my promise to Olga yet."

"I'll help you out however I can. Now then, you should probably follow the main driveway. The security seems to be light tonight. There may be a few sentries on the driveway, but it's dark, so you should able to deal with them. Also, try to find yourself a better weapon if you can."

"Right."

Snake shut off the codec and lifted the M9.

"Here I go," he whispered to himself, and started down the driveway.

End Note: Please R&R. The MGS plot line is complicated, and if something I've written doesn't match up with a past game, please point it out to me.


	2. Chapter 1: Into the Woods

Metal Gear Solid 4:  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Author's Note: Okay, here's where the story starts to get all...umm...interesting I guess.

Superfly- _I myself haven't played MGS2 in awhile, but I did look around the internet and at From what I learned, Olga and Sergei use gender neutral words when referring to the child. At the end, Snake uses the words "He" and "Him", but most likely he was just using it in the context like how you may say to a group of people "Hey guys" when there's some girls there too. I'm keeping Olga's child female for the purposes of my story. I'm sorry if you don't prefer that, but that's what I'm choosing to do._

I don't really have much else to say, so, please enjoy!

Chapter 1: Into the Woods

Snake kept in a battle stance as moved down the driveway. The fence was to his left, and he kept as close as he could to it without risking an electrical shock. He noticed a sign on the fence that said "DANGER: 10,000 Volts". It would be a pretty nasty shock if he touched it.

Just northeast of his current position, he could make out a small row of pine trees. And just barely visible in the darkness were two guards patrolling the area. Snake silently rolled into the clump of tall grass to the right of the gravel road. He pulled out his binoculars and activated the night vision feature. The area was lit up with bright green through the lenses, and Snake saw that, while one guard seemed to remain stationary, with his back to Snake, the other was pacing back and forth in a north-south manner. Snake shut off the binoculars, put them away, and readied the Beretta. He got into a crouch and slowly moved among the grass.

He reached the edge of the grass and aimed the Beretta at the back of the stationary guard's head. But, realizing that that tactic would fail, he shifted his aim to the other guard. He waited until the guard's back was to him, and then pulled the trigger. There was a soft _thwip_ as the dart sped through the air. It buried itself in the guard's neck, and he gave a small grunt before collapsing. Unfortunately, the other guard heard the grunt, and spun around, raising his Carbine.

"Billy, is that you?" he mumbled. Snake went to cock his tranq gun, but the slide was already back in the empty position. He cursed mentally and remembered that he had used most of the current clip on the men guarding the truck he had snuck in on. He couldn't risk reloading, it would have made too much noise. He remembered the knife he had been given and slowly unsheathed it.

The guard had found the unconscious man, and started to lift his hand to the radio on his uniform. In desperation, Snake swung out at some of the grass with his fist. The small rustling noise was enough to get the guard's attention. His hand left the radio and instead found the grip of his assault rifle. He started to cautiously move towards Snake. Snake knew he had to time this right. Too soon and he would be shot. Too late the guard would see him. He waited until the guard was only five feet in front of him, and he made his move.

The guard barely had time to blink before Snake had slid around and grabbed him from behind. He kicked the guard in the back of the legs to bring him to his knees. Then he held the knife to his throat.

"If you try to radio for help, I will slit your throat, do you understand?" Snake growled menacingly. The man nodded slowly.

"Good," said Snake, and he jabbed the butt of the knife into the man's neck, sending his unconscious form to the earth.

Snake started to reach for the man's Carbine but remembered that the Patriots had probably DNA encoded all of their weapons. If he tried to use it, nothing would happen. He would have to find a gun that hadn't been registered with anyone yet.

Snake sheathed the knife and reloaded the Beretta, and looked around. There didn't seem to be any more sentries. There was a small blink of red light in the grass. Snake bended over and looked at it. It wasn't C4 or anything like that. If fact, he had never seen it before. It looked like a hockey puck, but slightly larger and with a blinking red light in the side. He contacted Otacon.

"Hey Snake," welcomed Otacon. "What is it?"

"I've found this strange object in the grass. It looks like a hockey puck with a blinking red light. Any ideas?"

"Hmm...I think I know what you're talking about." There was a pause, and then Otacon gave out a small laugh. "Of course!" He practically shouted.

"What?" asked Snake.

"That's what's causing our 'invisible force field'. It's a new invention called SF1. That stands for "Stealth Fence version 1.0". It's an ingenious invention. What you do is lay a bunch of these little things around whatever you want to protect, about six to ten feet away from each other. When you've got a complete loop, you turn them on by remote control and they link together and project a ten to twelve foot tall invisible electric wall. So it's like a 'force field'."

"I get it. And if you wonder into the field, you get zapped. How many volts?"

"About 20,000."

"Ouch. I'll have to try to stay clear of them then. Anything else I should know?"

"Yeah. They're set to ignore small things like dust particles and bugs. But if something larger activates it, then it also triggers an alarm. So, don't try to knock any guards through it, cause a bunch more will probably be sent after you."

"Alright. Thanks. I'm continuing my approach to the complex."

Snake deactivated the codec and continued down the driveway. He reached the northeastern corner of the electric fence, and saw another guard with his back to it. Snake snuck up behind him and grabbed his neck from behind. Before the guard could react, Snake pushed down and sent the man crashing to his back. Snake shoved the Beretta in his face, just in case the man was still conscious. He wasn't.

Snake turned around. The complex was barely a hundred feet in front of him. It was fairlytall to be in the middle of nowhere. It looked like a big metalrectangle in the moonlight.

There was a large hummock of dirt to Snake's left. He rolled behind it for cover. Laying on his belly, he crawled to the top of the hummock and peered over, his Beretta pointed in front of him. There was a single guard standing in front of the main door. Surprisingly, there were no security cameras installed, at least none that Snake could see. He fired a tranq round at the guard. He was far away, but he still managed to hit him. Unfortunately, the dart hit the man's left arm. It would take a few seconds for him to pass out. He may have had just enough time to radio for help.

But the guard didn't even seem to notice. He didn't react at all to the dart in his arm until he fell to the ground.

_Thick skin, maybe?_ Snake wondered to himself.

He got to his feet and ran over to the door. As he approached, a familiar low pitched double-beep emitted from the door. It used PAN card access. There was a large number 2 painted on the door.

"Otacon," he said into the codec, "the doors here respond to PAN cards. The one leading into the complex is a level two."

"Are there any nearby guards who may have a card?" suggested Otacon.

Snake searched the body of the man he had just tranqed. He found a card, but it was only level 1.

"Just a level one card."

"Well, see if that can get you anywhere. You need to find that card Snake."

Snake shut off the codec and pocketed the card. He looked around and noticed that there was a smallmetal staircase to his left, at the northwest corner of the complex. He sneaked over and saw that they led up to a balcony just a few feet above him. He started up the stairs, tranq gun at the ready, but stopped when he heard a voice. He got off the stairs and crouched in the grass.

The complex was at the top of a small hill. At the bottom of the hill was a clearing, and then beyond that was the valley with the woods. Snake peered down at the entrance to the woods.

There were two figures standing in the moonlight. The one on the left was talking to the one on the right. His voice was familiar.

"I know that he's here. Whatever happens, we can't let him get the girl. It will ruin everything."

The second figure responded in an almost inaudible whisper, with a hint of a hiss at the end.

"Of course. I've got men down in the woods ready to attack if he tries anything. We're safe."

"This man could slip past all of your guards in a second. He's good. I know that all too well."

The man lifted something into the moonlight. It was some kind of handgun. Snake reached for the binoculars and flipped on night vision. He almost gasped when he saw what gun it was specifically.

A Colt Single Action Army revolver. When he saw the gun, the man's voice registered with him as well. But it couldn't be. What would _he _be doing here?

"My men are better than that, General Ivan," said the second figure. Even with the night vision, Snake couldn't see him well. But he was more focused on the first man.

The first man started to skillfully twirl the revolver in his hand. He threw it into the air and caught it, almost instantly starting to spin again. He holstered the gun in one quick movement, and then sighed.

"All of you people think that your men are the best. I guarantee you, you'll be proved wrong. Now get back to your post."

The second figure nodded. He crouched and then leapt into the air. At least twenty feet into the air. Snake wouldhave found that odd had he not seen it done by so many other people. The man then disappeared into the treetops.

The first man walked towards the entrance to the woods, and for the first time, Snake saw that a gate with a PAN door had been set up at the entrance. The door slid open and let the man through into the woods. As the door closed, Snake put away the binoculars and called Otacon.

"Otacon, he's here!"

"Who Snake?" replied Otacon.

"It's-it's Ocelot!"

End Note: Okay, maybe I revealed Ocelot too early, but if I hadn't, this chapter would have been pretty boring. Well, please R&R, I guess.


	3. Chapter 2: The Fallen

Author's Note: This chapter has been revised. Thanks to Deep Mist for pointing out the problem with Gunsmith's last test. I fixed that, so thanks a lot.

Metal Gear Solid 4:  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 2: The Fallen

"What?" explained Otacon.

"I'm telling you, he's here!"

"Who's there?" cut in Gunsmith.

"Revolver Ocelot," answered Snake.

"Ocelot, huh? I've read about him. He was in a file about the Big Shell incident. He uses a Single Action Army, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he's pretty damn good with it too."

Gunsmith laughed. "I'm surprised. That kind of gun is ancient. Pretty cool, though. I'll admit, the man has style."

"I wish style was all he had," stated Snake.

"Snake, if Ocelot _is_ there," started Otacon, "then this is bigger than Anya. There's gotta' be some reason he's there. Some real bad reason."

"Yeah. But it's strange. He still sounded like himself. I thought Liquid had completely taken over."

"Maybe not yet. Maybe it has something to do with why he's here."

Snake let out a deep sigh. It seemed like Ocelot was always one step ahead of him.

"In any case, he was talking to someone else."

"Who?" asked Otacon.

"I'm not sure. I couldn't see him, even with the night vision binoculars. But he hissed when he talked, and he jumped at least twenty feet in the air when he left. Sound familiar to you?"

"No. I don't recognize anyone who fits that description."

"Hmm..." mumbled Gunsmith.

"What is it?" asked Snake.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing."

"Snake, we'll worry about Ocelot later. Right now, you need to find a level 2 key and get inside the base."

"Right. The key I've got can get me into the woods behind the complex. Maybe I should search there. Snake out."

He shut off the codec and started towards the PAN door. As he neared it, it swung open automatically like it was supposed to. Lifting the M9 in front of him, he started down the side of the valley. On all sides of him were tall dark trees, their branches bare. The sloping hillside was very steep, and Snake nearly stumbled a few times. With each step, the dead leaves crunched beneath his feet. He kept his eyes moving, but so far, there were no enemies.

He reached the bottom of the valley. It was a small clearing. To the north and curving around to the right before heading east was a small stream. There was a small wooden bridge above the stream, but it was protected by a level five PAN door. To the left of the bridge was another path guarded by a level two PAN door. He couldn't go either way. His only option was to cross the stream on the left.

He started for the stream, but stopped. He had felt something enter his right arm. He looked down and saw a dart sticking out of it. He quickly ripped it out, but it was too late. His vision was blurring, and he was losing his balance. The ground came up to meet him, and then everything was black.

He didn't dream. Nor did he know how long he was asleep. When Snake came to, he sat bolt upright. He was still exactly where he had fallen, except it was daytime. Sunlight shone through the twisted branches above. The first thing Snake did as he got to his feet was to check his equipment. Everything was there. He checked himself two times more, but nothing had been taken. As far as it seemed, nothing had happened.

"Otacon," Snake said into the codec, "someone hit me with a tranq dart."

"We were worried. We kept calling, but you never answered. Did they do anything to you?"

"No, everything's exactly the same."

"Huh, why would they knock you out for no reason?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to keep looking for the card."

"Okay, see ya."

Snake walked over to the river bank. It was still his only way out. Where the stream was it's widest, there was a small island of sorts made of various rocks. He could reach it. Snake got a running start and leapt into the air. His momentum carried him over the stream, farther than he needed. He landed in the middle of the island. He steadied himself and prepared to jump to the other side of the stream.

He stopped when he heard the sound of something moving through the air. He sidestepped just in time as something shot past his face and buried itself in the rocks.

"What the-" exclaimed Snake. Protruding from the rocks was a crossbow bolt. Securely fastened to the bolt was an SF1 projector. Suddenly, a hail of arrows shot from the trees. All of them missed Snake, instead hitting the rocks and forming a circle around him. There was a small beeping noise. Snake saw that they all were SF1 projectors. They were all blinking. He was trapped.

"Hehehe..." a voice laughed. It was the hissing voice that belonged to the man from before. Snake pointed the M9 in the direction of the laugh. It was coming from the trees. But he couldn't see anything. The laugh came again, except from a different direction. Snake whirled around just in time to see a figure dart through the trees. He tried to keep a bead on the target, but it was too fast. Suddenly, it burst from the trees and landed behind him.

Snake spun around came face to face with a lanky man. He was dressed in a blue jumpsuit, with some kind of headdress on his head. It was shaped like a bird's head. His narrow face, long nose, and yellow eyes peered out from under the beak of the headdress. He was grinning.

Snake pointed the Beretta at the man's head, but at the same time, the man lifted up his arm. He was holding a long black crossbow. The ready-to-fire bolt was pointed directly at Snake's eye.

"Well well well," the man hissed, "is this the man that Shalashaska warned me of?"

"Who are you?" demanded Snake.

"Hmm...I'll tell you my code if you tell me yours."

"Solid Snake. Maybe you've heard of me."

"Oh yes, THE Solid Snake. You have quite a reputation. Ha!"

They began to circle around, neither of them moving their weapon an inch.

"My name is The Falcon. Master of the Winds."

**_Air Soldier- The Falcon (Doug Stone)_**

"The Falcon? Were you a member of FOX-HOUND?" asked Snake.

"Never. I have always been with The Fallen."

"The Fallen?"

"What, you've never heard of us? Oh well, by your terms we're fairly new, I suppose. Anyways, I doubt that I'm in any danger. That's a tranquilizer gun, isn't it? Even if you shot me, I could easily put ten bolts in your head before I fell asleep. I'm not afraid."

"Did you tranq me earlier?" asked Snake.

"Yes, that was me."

"Why?"

"I'm better at fighting during the day is all. You would have had the advantage at night."

Snake tensed. This guy might have pulled the trigger at any second.

"But you're lucky. I won't be fighting you yet. I'd rather test you."

"What do you mean?"

Falcon chuckled and then let out a shrieking bird call. Suddenly, three guards appeared on either side of the stream. A seventh guard leapt from a tree above, and landed next to Snake and Falcon. Snake quickly looked them over. Unlike the patrolling guards, these men were wearing body armor.

"I'll let them deal with you. I want to see if Ocelot was right about you."

Falcon leaped into the air, and landed on the branch of a nearby tree.

"Show them what you've got!" he shouted, and then he jumped into the air, his arms spread. His form blocked out the sun as some sort of glider stretched from his arms to his sides, and he flew away.

_He can fly?_ Snake thought. But he had a bigger problem at the moment. The guards on the bank all had M4A1 Carbines. The one near him on the island had a SOCOM pistol. Snake smiled inwardly. Putting one near him had been their biggest mistake.

In a flash, Snake grabbed the guard's wrist and twisted, sending the SOCOM flying from his grip. Snake then, in a single movement, holstered the M9, grabbed the SOCOM out of the air, and then grabbed the guard from behind and held it to his head. All the guards outside of the SF1's field hadn't expected this. Snake hoped that the SOCOM hadn't been DNA registered. As he aimed it at one of the guards and pulled the trigger, his luck pulled through. A bullet exploded from the end of the gun and shot through the man's head, and he fell forwards into the stream. Snake fired two more shots, ending the lives of the remaining men on that side of the shore.

The other guards finally reacted, and they opened fire, despite Snake's hostage. Luckily, many of the bullets were stopped by the hostage's armor. Snake fired the rest of the SOCOM clip, getting the rest of the soldiers. Then he spun the hostage around and kicked him into the SF1 field.

There was a small _zap, _and the man's body jerked and fell partially into the stream. His legs were still in the SF1 field, and the electricity traveled through him and into the river. The resulting buildup of energy must have short circuited the field, because there were a bunch of loud popping noises, and the SF1 projectors started to spark and smoke. The blinking lights on them shut off. The field had been deactivated.

Snake jumped off the island onto the opposite shore, and contacted Otacon.

"Otacon, I found that guy from earlier. He sais his name was The Falcon and that he was a part of 'The Fallen'."

"I don't know Snake."

"Wait, I do." It was Gunsmith.

"What are they?" asked Snake.

"The Fallen is a group of six extremely gifted soldiers. They were formed by the Patriots a few years prior to the Tanker Incident. They were all chosen for their strange abilities and powers. The Patriots were trying to create another group similar to Dead Cell, or the FOX-HOUND members from Shadow Moses."

"And they're all here?"

"Well, if The Falcon was there, then I'd say that they're all there, since they usually stay together."

"How do you know all of this?" questioned Snake.

"Because I was considered as a member."

"What?"

"Yeah. I'm a master at almost any type of firearm ever made, remember? But I failed the last test."

"Test?"

"Yeah, they set up separate tests for us. Each one of us had a different set of tests depending on what our ability was. Only those who passed all the tests could become a member. And I failed the last one."

"What was your last test?"

"Target practice, of all things. They made it ridiculously hard. They expected me to hit a three inch bullseye with a cheap little pistol from two-hundred yards away! I mean, c'mon!"

"The tests were that hard?"

"Yep. But they all passed theirs. Funny. If I had passed that last test, I'd be fighting against you right now. Of course, I don't think Gunsmith would have made a good codename with The Fallen."

"Why?"

"They're all named after animals that represent the particular element or force of nature they control."

"Elements?"

"Yes. There's The Falcon, who controls air. The Dragon rules fire, The Shark is a master of water, The Rhino is earth, The Firefly channels electricity, and The Bat dominates darkness."

"They sound like a lively bunch."

"If you run into any more of them, let me know Snake. I know a lot about them, so I can help you out."

"Okay, Snake out."

End Note: In case no one remembers, Doug Stone did the voice of Psycho Mantis in The Twin Snakes (and I think he did Mantis in the original, too).


	4. Chapter 3: The Falcon

Metal Gear Solid 4:  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Author's Note: Hello to all people who may read this. My throat's healing up faster than expected (must be all the orange juice I guess) and so I figured I would sit down and start the next chapter. Please have fun reading it!

Chapter 3: The Falcon

Snake found three clips for the SOCOM on the body of the fried guard, and had reloaded it. The man hadn't had a suppressor for it unfortunately, so Snake kept it in the holster his hip. He took the tranq gun back out. He was running low on darts. He needed to find more ammunition for the M9, or a suppressor for his new handgun.

Snake left the bank onto a small path that was set on all sides by skinny little trees with low hanging branches. He had to brush a lot to the side, but he soon found himself just cutting them away with the knife. The path curved left up ahead, and Snake could see something shaped like a big square. As he got closer, he saw it was a supply truck. It probably made regular rounds down into the woods from the base to deliver rations and ammo to the guards on patrol.

Snake rolled behind a tree. There were two guards near the truck, a third in the driver's seat talking to them, and a fourth unloading large crates out of the back. Snake waited. The two guards laughed at something the driver said, and then left. The guard in back seemed done unloading the shipment. Snake quickly tranqed him and jumped into the back of the truck. There were still a few boxes in back; maybe the truck had a few more stops. As the truck started to move, Snake rummaged quietly through the boxes. He found what he was looking for: a SOCOM suppressor. He quickly attached it to the pistol and holstered the M9. Things would be a bit easier now.

The truck stopped. Snake heard voices, and they were getting closer. He grabbed a cardboard box labeled "Sunny Yum Oranges" and covered himself with it as he fell to a crouch. Just in time. Through a small hole in the box, Snake could see a guard climb into the back of the truck, talking to another guard who Snake couldn't see.

"Sasaki got the shits _again?_" the first guard uttered in disbelief.

"Yeah. He says it's his curse. Every time he gets near pretty girls it happens."

"Damn, I feel sorry for the guy. Imagine, you're just about to pop a chick and _bam! _You drop a big turd all over her!" He burst into laughter.

"That's disgusting man!" the second guard exclaimed, but he laughed anyway.

Snake ignored the men's stupidity, instead focusing on being as quiet as possible. The first man was carrying the remaining crates out of the truck. When they were all gone, he started for the box Snake was in.

"Oh man, government oranges again? They taste like sh-"

Snake flipped the box over, standing up and lifting the SOCOM to the guard's head.

"Freeze!" he whispered urgently. The guard, caught by surprise, put his hands in the air.

"Do you have a level two security card?" Snake demanded.

"N-no," the man stammered. He was afraid.

"Do you know where I can get one?"

The man didn't reply this time. Snake leered at him and shifted his aim at the man's crotch.

"Okay okay! That man with the bird costume has one."

"Falcon, huh?"

"Y-yeah."

"Thanks," Snake said. He brought up the handgun and jabbed it into the man's neck. He collapsed without a sound. Snake activated the codec.

"Mei Ling," asked Snake.

"Yeah Snake, what is it?" she replied.

"Is there anyway you can find The Falcon with your equipment?"

"I don't know. If you had your radar, maybe I could locate him with it, but I'd need to know where he is myself first."

"Damn. I guess I'll have to find him myse-"

"That won't be necessary," hissed a familiar voice. Snake shut off the codec and looked out the back of the truck. Nothing. He carefully got out, looking around. No one. Then he noticed that the truck was in a large clearing, surrounded by trees on all sides, with a few peppered throughout.

"Where'd that other guard go?" Snake whispered to himself. He was answered by a thud on the roof of the car. He turned around as the guard's body rolled off the truck and landed on him, pinning him to the ground. The man had a crossbow bolt in his eye. Snake pushed him off and got up.

"Incompetent. He needed to be punished."

Snake pointed the handgun at the roof of the truck as a figured landed on it. The man rose up from his crouch, crossbow at his side, eyes glaring out from under his headdress. The Falcon.

"You!" shouted Snake.

"Seriously. Anyone who's heard about you should know to be careful around boxes."

Falcon cracked his neck and jumped, spreading his "wings" and flying into a nearby tree. He perched, as it were, on one of the higher branches.

"I'm looking forwards to testing the infamous Solid Snake in combat. I must warn you, I'm no pushover like _certain people_ you may have fought."

"I beat, I'll beat you."

"Ha! Snake, please. I grew up in the jungles of the Amazon. My parents were biologists who were studying the flora and fauna there when my mother gave birth to me. Even as a child, I was fascinated by the idea of flight. I would see beautiful macaws and parrots, even falcons, everyday. I had always wanted to be just like them. Huh. Fate can be funny."

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? In the jungles, when I was only ten, I became infected with a rare bone disease. Few if any had ever survived without treatment. It was treatable, of course. A simple bone-marrow transplant would have solved everything. But where was my family going to find a team of surgeons in the Amazon? They couldn't return home to America to get me proper treatment until the next boat arrived. Which would have been in about a week. Not enough time. Oh, I tell you Snake, you haven't known what true pain is until you've experienced 'Evolution'."

"Evolution? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how God and fate conspired to make me rise above the rest of the human race. It was hell alright. Every day I grew a little weaker, and I couldn't move without experiencing terrible agony. Whenever I ate, my jaw felt as if it were to break at any second! But I survived. It wasn't my time. And I rose from that hell as a falcon! I evolved! And now, I'm going to use that gift to destroy you!"

Falcon fired two bolts at Snake. Snake back flipped and they soared under him, burying themselves in a tree. As Snake landed, he ducked behind the tree and called Gunsmith.

"I'm fighting The Falcon. What's the deal with this guy?"

"The Falcon was born to a pair of biologists while they were on safari in the Amazon. Then he contracted a rare bone disease and-"

"Yeah, he told me all this already," Snake informed him.

"Oh. Well, uh, okay. Where'd he leave off?"

"At the part where he survived."

"Right. Anyways, against God-knows-how bad odds, he lived, but not without repercussions. His bone marrow was heavily damaged, turning his bones hollow, like a bird's. Because of it, he needs regular injections of blood to stay alive, but since he has type AB blood, he doesn't have very much to worry about there. Luckily, if he hasn't had an injection in a while, he starts to get tired. Use this to your advantage."

"What about his flight?"

"That glider thing? He made that himself. It's made out of a synthetic fiber that's durable, yet ridiculously light. He catches updrafts of air to glide with it. Since he weighs so little, coupled with the fact that he has hollow bones, it'll only work for him.

"Also, watch out for his crossbow. It's a Vixen, manufactured by EXCALIBER Crossbow Inc. It's a lightweight easy-to-use crossbow that he probably chose because of his weak physical strength. Also, his reloading speed is ridiculously fast. He can fire one arrow, which travels in excess of 275 FPS, and reload and fire another before the first one gets twenty feet."

"You're kidding me! So he can fire around thirteen or fourteen bolts per second?"

"Crazy, I know, but you remember how hard those tests were. Good luck man. You'll need it."

Just as Snake ended the codec call, he looked up to Falcon as he glided over to the tree Snake was hiding behind.

"Peekaboo!" he screeched, and took aim. Snake dived out of the way as four bolts shot into the ground where he had been standing. Before Snake himself hit the ground, he fired two bullets from the SOCOM. Both missed, and Falcon glided off out of the clearing.

"Snake, there's something you should know!" he taunted from the trees. Following his voice, Snake could hear that he was on the move, probably circling the clearing.

_And what would that be? _Snake thought.

A hail of branches and twigs exploded from the edge of the clearing as Falcon burst from the treetops.

"FALCONS EAT SNAKES!"

Even as he said that, he had already fired two bolts. The first hit the ground in front of Snake, but the second got stuck in his right arm. Snake grunted in pain and fell on his back, emptying the SOCOM in the direction of his moving target. Snake couldn't tell if he hit, but the member of The Fallen landed in a nearby tree. Snake checked the wound. It had got stuck on the outside, missing the bone. He grabbed it and jerked, ripping it out and screaming in pain.

"Shit, my wings!" shouted Falcon from the tree. Snake put the SOCOM in his left hand, and hid behind a tree.

"You shot my wings! There's nothing more important to a bird of prey than his wings!"

There was a long silence. Snake reloaded the SOCOM, and waited. Falcon hadn't made a move. Snake was vaguely aware of the sounds of Falcon breathing loudly. He was tired already.

The instant Snake revealed his position he dived forwards. As expected, a hail of maybe a dozen arrows shot from the tree. All aimed at where Snake would have been had he not dived. Falcon jumped out from the branches, his wings spread, ready to take off once more. Snake fired three bullets.

As Snake hit the dirt, Falcon screamed. Two of the bullets had pierced his wings. The third hit him in the right side of his chest. He went flying backwards, into the tree. Then there was silence.

His body had not fallen down. Still with his gun trained at the tree, Snake started slowly towards it. There was a dark liquid running down the trunk. Snake saw Falcon.

He was impaled on a tree branch. It went right through his back and came out his stomach.

"Ugh...uh," moaned. He was barely alive. He coughed and blood shot out. "I...forgot...that...Snakes have been...known to attack...wounded birds."

He let go of the crossbow. It bounced once and then was still.

"M-my parents took me to America when I recovered. I had never been there before, and when they enrolled me in public school, I was ridiculed every day by my peers. The disease had left me skinny and weak, and so I was the target of everyone's insults."

Snake had put away his gun. He knew that he was safe. When people like The Falcon died, Snake knew to give them at least the chance to get anything off their chest.

"I... spent my free time inventing things in my room. My first invention was my wings. Oh, my lovely wings.

"When I became an adult, I became interested in hunting. Using bow guns and my wings, I would go out and hunt. I always returned with something. But then, a little over five years ago, I was approached by the Patriots. They had heard of my invention and my skills somehow, and they wanted me to try out for The Fallen. I passed, and...here I am.

"I have no regrets Snake. I just want to die now. Here, this is what you wanted, right?"

With the last of his strength, he reached into his pocket and drew something. He dropped it, and Snake caught it. A level two card key.

"Snake, I know why you're here. For that girl."

"Anya?" asked Snake quietly.

"Yes. But Snake, remember. Your road will be a difficult one, filled with sorrow and death. I know about...your past exploits. You lead a sad life, much like my own. Heh. Well, I'm off, to soar with the best among the clouds. Wish me luck Snake."

He smiled one last time, and then his head fell limp. He was gone.

End Note: Please R&R everyone. I want to know what you think of The Falcon.


	5. Chapter 4: Reunion

Author's Note: My throat's completely healed now, so I can get back to writing this story. Thank you everyone for your patience. Please enjoy.

Metal Gear Solid 4:  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 4: Reunion

Snake had considered taking the Vixen, but had decided against it. A crossbow wouldn't do him much good. He had two quiet guns already, and both of them held many more shots. Also, he had discarded the level one card. With a level two card, he could get into level two PAN doors and anything below. There was no need for an extra card.

Looking around the clearing, Snake saw that the only exit, which the truck must have passed through earlier, was a level two PAN door. He approached it and it slid open. He followed the path back to the stream where he had met The Falcon, taking out two guards with his M9 on the way there, and depleting himself of the last of his darts. He had no choice now but to kill guards with the SOCOM if he couldn't knock them unconscious with a pistol whip.

He passed the stream back into the bottom of the valley, and then started up the hill, back to the complex. However, as he was in sight of the level one door that left the woods, Snake a clicking noise to his right. Instinctively, he jumped backwards. As he had predicted, a bullet shot from the trees and buried itself in the dirt where his feet had been. As Snake landed, he hid behind a tree.

"Well well well, look who decided to show up," taunted a voice coming from in between the tree trunks. Snake knew that voice. Peeking his head out just the slightest bit, he saw a man emerge from the woods. He was wearing a long brown trench coat that swished in the small breeze. The coat was open, revealing a long belt of pistol bullets wrapped around his torso. On his feet were tall cowboy boots, complete with spurs that jingled with each step he made, a sharp contrast to the crunching of dead leaves beneath his feet. He was twirling his favorite gun, a Colt M1873 Single Action Army revolver, in his right hand. His hair, which had gone white from old age, hung down to his shoulders. His bony face held a smug smile.  
"Ocelot," whispered Snake grimly.

**_Revolver Ocelot (Patric Zimmerman)_**

"Snake, how long has it been? Five years already?" he asked in his gravelly, confident voice.

"Not long enough," Snake answered.

"True. I'm not exactly happy to see you here either, but at least it means that my stay here won't be as boring as I had originally intended." He masterfully put away the revolver in a holster on his right hip. Reaching into the left side of his coat, he drew a second revolver and started to twirl it in his left hand, just as skillfully as the first.

"What are you doing here Ocelot?" Snake demanded.

"Snake, must we get down to business immediately? I thought we were going to catch up on old times?"

Snake knew Ocelot wasn't going to answer his question, so he changed the subject.

"How's Liquid these days?" Snake asked sarcastically. Ocelot replied with a growl.

"That bastard brother of yours is gone. I fixed him."

Snake didn't believe him. "You're lying Ocelot."

"Alright then, fine. The truth is that he's left me alone for the past five years, so I assume that he's gone. If that's not a good enough answer for you, well, too bad."

Snake didn't have time for this. He needed to get into that base and find Anya. Jumping out from behind the tree, Snake fired two shots from the SOCOM. But just as they were about to hit Ocelot, they swerved away from him, instead hitting the trees behind him. Snake hid again as Ocelot laughed at his futile efforts.

"Snake, you forget! I still have that little device that the Patriots cooked up. As long as I have it, you can't beat me."

"Damn it Ocelot!" Snake shouted. He popped out and fired two more shots. As expected, they missed completely. But Snake had a plan. If he could just reach Ocelot and fire the gun while the barrel was pressed up against his head, there's no way it could miss. He darted in between the trees, firing the rest of the clip at Ocelot. Ocelot returned fire, fanning his gun in rapid succession. The entire barrage of shots missed, although a few ricocheted off the trees and nearly hit Snake. Ocelot holstered the gun and drew the other one, trying to get a bead on Snake. But he had seemingly disappeared. As Ocelot turned his head around slowly to try and find his enemy, Snake was crawling as stealthily as possible up to Ocelot's back. Just as he reached him, he jumped up and moved to put the barrel of the SOCOM, which he had reloaded, to his head.

Ocelot was too fast. He spun around and fired one shot at the SOCOM, blowing it out of Snake's hand. Then he cocked the revolver and placed the barrel up against Snake's forehead.

"Your plan backfired boy," Ocelot taunted. "Looks like this is the end for you, Snake!"

But as his finger moved to pull the trigger, it started to twitch. Ocelot's expression changed from victorious to fearful.

"NO! NOT AGAIN! NOT NOW!" he screamed. He dropped the revolver and grabbed his right arm, but it was all in vain. The hand was opening and closing rapidly, and Ocelot's whole body was violently shaking.

Snake took this opportunity to get his SOCOM back. He pointed it at Ocelot, and saw that the change had finished. Ocelot had stopped shaking, and his right arm had returned to normal. He had ripped his right sleeve off, revealing the bare arm to be bulging with muscles and veins. Ocelot was no longer Ocelot. He was Liquid Snake.

_**Liquid Snake (Cam Clarke)**_

"Hello brother," he greeted in Liquid's British accent. Snake kept the gun trained on Liquid, forgetting for the moment that it would be useless.

"Liquid!"

"Snake, you're looking terrible these days. I guess that the accelerated aging from the Les Enfants Terribles project hasn't been kind to you."

"Shut up, Liquid. You're not looking so good yourself."

"What, this old man? Don't think I don't hate it in here. I want my old body back. Luckily, as soon as I'm finished taking over Ocelot completely, I can just have plastic surgery to fix _that_ little problem. It won't be the same, but it will have to make do."

"How are you doing this Liquid?" Snake asked.

"Really, what fun would it be if I told you? It really is an amazing experience, brother. An "Out-of-body" experience if you will. Why don't you figure it out on your own? There must be someone on your codec that can help you."

Liquid leaped into the air. He still could jump as high as ever. He landed in a tree and drew the empty revolver from Ocelot's coat. He started to slowly reload it. When he was done, he spun the chamber and started to twirl it. Not as good as Ocelot could, but impressive nonetheless.

"Now Snake, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the complex. I can feel Ocelot rearing his ugly head. I can't keep him back for long. But that's not to say I shouldn't make things a little harder for you." He stopped twirling the Colt and pointed it at the PAN door. Just as Snake realized what he was going to do, it was too late. Liquid fanned the entire chamber into the door. The bullets shattered the computer inside the door, rendering it inoperable.

"You'll have to take the long way around I'm afraid," Liquid said as he holstered the revolver. "See you later, brother." With that, he leapt off the branch, over the PAN door. He was gone.

"Damn it!" Snake cursed. He couldn't get through the PAN door now. He backtracked down the hill. The bridge to the north still was out of his card clearance, but there was a level two door to his left. Readying his SOCOM, Snake passed through the door.

End Note: This was more of a dialogue chapter really. I hope you all liked it. Please R&R!


	6. Chapter 5: Eavesdropping

Author's Note: Nothing to say except thanks for your reviews and please enjoy!

Metal Gear Solid 4:  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 5: Eavesdropping

As the door behind him slid shut, Snake ducked behind the closest tree. In front of him was a small path that went up the hill, and presumably out of the woods. There were three guards patrolling the path. Snake got his binoculars out and checked out their equipment.

"XM8 Assault Rifles," Snake whispered to himself grimly. There was no way that he wanted to fight three men with those kind of guns, while he was equipped with only a handgun. He ran a strategy quickly through his head, and then acted on it when the nearest guard turned away.

Putting away the binoculars, Snake came out from hiding and sneaked up behind the nearest guard. He grabbed him from behind, holding the knife to the man's throat with his left hand. The guard was about to cry for help when Snake nicked his throat just the slightest bit with the blade. Then, raising the SOCOM, Snake fired a bullet into the head of the nearest guard. As blood spurted from the man's wound, he pitched backwards. The final guard spun around and cursed, raising his rifle. But Snake jabbed his hostage in the neck, knocking him out. Then, before the hostage could hit the ground, Snake fell to the dirt and fired three more bullets at the last guard, sending him crumpling to the ground.

Snake got to his feet and continued along the path. When he reached the end, he saw a level two door. Passing through it, he found himself out of the woods at last. He was standing in a large grassy field. Looking around, Snake saw the complex about fifty yards to his left. He had come out west of where he had originally entered. Snake quickly moved across the field, keeping his eye out for any sentries. Surprisingly, there were none.

When Snake finally reached the main entrance, he found that a supply truck had come in his absence. It had been parked right in front of the main entrance. Cursing inwardly, Snake knew that he would have to find another way in. Snake quickly surveyed the area and saw that there was a level two door into the complex up on the metal balcony that overlooked the woods. There was a small set of stairs that led up to the balcony, but before going up, Snake checked the back of the supply truck. He found fifteen more darts for his M9, and even better, a Kalashnikov AKS-74U assault rifle. It was already loaded, and there were three other clips for it in the crate where Snake found it. There was no silencer, but Snake was sure there had to be one somewhere on the base.

Snake returned to the stairs, but halfway up them, he heard voices. He slowly reached the fifth step from the top, and crouched, peeking over the top of the steps.

The first person Snake saw was Ocelot. He was talking in his normal voice, which meant that Liquid must have gone away for the time being.

"Argh, after all this time, he's finally started to come back," Ocelot muttered.

"Then it must be connected to Snake," replied another voice. Snake shifted his attention to the man Ocelot was talking to.

He was wearing what looked like a large red cape wrapped around him, so that Snake couldn't see anything else besides his face. He had a tall head that was topped with flaming red hair, which had been spiked in the front, and slicked in the back. He was speaking with a Spanish accent.

"Of course it's connected with Snake, why else would Liquid only show up when he's around me?" Ocelot replied irritably. The second man shrugged.

_Who is this guy?_ Snake thought. Ocelot turned to the man and drew his revolver. As he started to twirl it, he announced, "I don't think that The Fallen can handle him."

The second man stepped towards Ocelot aggressively, letting his cape fall to his side. He revealed his arms, which were fairly muscular and bare. Snake saw that he was wearing a black combat suit of some kind. He waved one finger at Ocelot.

"Listen to me, Shalashaska," he said in an angry voice, "we were trained to be the best. We were put through hell to get where we are. I tell you, The Fallen are not so easily beaten."

"Calm down Dragon," Ocelot said in mock worry, "I'm sure that The Fallen are up to the challenge. But you would do well to not take risks with this man."

_The Dragon, one of The Fallen? _Snake thought.

**_Pyrokinetic Soldier- The Dragon (Michael Bell)_**

"Fine," said Dragon, "but don't ever insinuate that The Fallen are weak ever again." He drew back into his cape, wrapping it around himself once more.

"Not weak eh? Then explain how The Falcon get himself killed by Snake not twenty minutes ago."

The Dragon's anger suddenly exploded to the surface. "WHAT?" he screamed. He drew his arms back out and jumped up onto the railing of the balcony. He reached into his cape and drew something out. Snake zoomed in on it with his binoculars. It was a Zippo lighter.

"NO ONE DISGRACES THE FALLEN LIKE THIS!" he shouted, and he flipped on the lighter. He held out his other hand, and to Snake's amazement, the tiny light instantly grew into a ball of fire and floated into Dragon's hand. Then, a huge burst of flame shot from his palm into the trees below, like a flamethrower. The woods caught on fire, and The Dragon shifted back and forth, burning tree after tree, cursing and yelling the whole time. Finally, he stopped, put away the lighter, drew back into his cape, and jumped down onto the balcony.

"You might want to put that out," suggested Ocelot, "you don't want to attract the attention of the local police, do you?"

The Dragon grunted and snapped his fingers. Instantaneously, the entire inferno dissipated, leaving only a cloud of smoke behind, which was quickly carried away by the wind.

"How could Falcon lose so easily?" Dragon asked.

"It's not that The Falcon lost so much as that Snake won," Ocelot pointed out.

"Still..."

Ocelot stopped twirling his revolver and holstered it. "Are the rest of The Fallen in place?"

"The Shark and The Rhino are in position."

"What about your sister?"

"She's on the roof, supervising the final preparations for the Gustav."

"Good. I want the Gustav operational as soon as possible. Within the hour, if she can do it."

"I'll let her know."

"Finally, where's The Bat?" Ocelot asked.

"I have no idea. He hasn't radioed in since last night."

"I want you to find him. I want no more accidents like last week."

"That wasn't his fault. One of the men taunted him and-"

"It _was_ his fault because he didn't take his medication," Ocelot said. "Twelve of the Patriot's private army, all killed in less than ten seconds by one of yours."

"He can't control himself sometimes, even with the medication," Dragon said, defending The Bat.

"I don't care about that. Just make sure that you find him. We need every last soldier we can get for Dead Heaven."

"Right, we'll find him."

Ocelot looked over in Snake's direction. Snake quickly ducked even lower. Ocelot shrugged and looked back at The Dragon.

"And Dog?" he asked.

"Dog is on the second floor basement, guarding the girl like he's supposed to," replied Dragon.

"Tell him to make sure she doesn't escape, but he may not kill her under any circumstances. It would be a shame if the last remaining member of the Gurlukovich family were to perish."

The Dragon nodded, and then turned away, entering the base through the level two door. Ocelot followed him.

Snake contacted Otacon when he was sure it was safe.

"Otacon, I just overheard Ocelot talking to a member of The Fallen, The Dragon."

"What did you hear?" Otacon asked.

"They mentioned something called Dead Heaven. You don't think it has anything to do with Outer Heaven, do you?"

"It might. But that plan's failed before. Big Boss and Liquid both tried to achieve Outer Heaven and they couldn't do it. It may be related somehow, but I doubt it's the same thing. Especially since Ocelot works for the Patriots, and Outer Heaven was exactly what they didn't want."

"You're right. But also, The Dragon talked about something called the Gustav. Any ideas?"

"That name sounds real familiar. Did they say anything other than a name?"

"No," informed Snake.

"Hmm, I'll look into it. Did they mention where Anya is?"

"Yeah, they said she's on the second floor basement. Someone called Dog is guarding her."

"Do you think he's another member of The Fallen?"

"Gunsmith never mentioned him. I'll ask him though. Meanwhile, you keep looking around for info on this Gustav."

"Okay," said Otacon. Snake changed to Gunsmith's frequency.

"Gunsmith, I just saw The Dragon."

"Oh boy. I remember him. His element was fire," Gunsmith recalled.

"Yeah, I saw that. He set the whole woods on fire with just a lighter, and then put it back out just as quick. It was like he was...controlling it somehow."

"Yeah, he's a pyrokinetic."

"Pyrokinetic?" Snake asked.

"It means that he can control fire and heat with his mind. Like telekinesis, only with flames."

"So that's why he's The Dragon..."

"Uh-huh. He's also the leader of The Fallen. The rest of them all follow his orders."

"He has quite a temper, it must suck having him as a boss," Snake joked.

"That's what I was worried about when I tried out for The Fallen."

"Also, he talked about his sister and The Bat."

"His sister is The Firefly. See, she's got electrokinesis, which means-"

"She can control electricity," Snake finished.

"Well, yes. I'll tell you more about her later. As for The Bat...see, I don't know much about him myself. He's the only member of The Fallen I never met, only heard about. I can't tell you too much about him. Sorry."

"Huh. Is there a member of The Fallen called Dog?"

"Nope. I never heard of him, and besides, what element would a dog represent?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm going to let you know if I meet any more of them, okay?"

"Right. See ya man."

Snake deactivated the codec. Pointing the SOCOM ahead of himself, he passed through the level two door, into the THOR complex.

End Note: Once again, for all of those who don't remember Michael Bell, he did the voice of The Fear, who always sounded sort of Spanish to me, so I decided to make him do the voice of The Dragon. Please R&R, I'd like to hear your theories about the mysteries I've opened up this chapter.


	7. Chapter 6: Ballistic Dog

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. Sorry it's been like, a week, but I've had a real hectic time at school. Please enjoy!

Metal Gear Solid 4:  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 6: Ballistic Dog

Snake quickly surveyed the room he had just entered. It was a small room devoid of any objects save another door. Passing through that, Snake found himself in what appeared to be a supply room. Snake ducked behind a crate, for there were two patrolling sentries nearby. Looking out, Snake saw an elevator behind one of them. He probably could use that to get to the second floor basement, where Anya was.

When Snake had first entered the complex, he had been able to get an idea of just how big it was by looking at a map on the wall. Most of the complex was underground, with only two floors aboveground. Using the map, Snake had been able to find the supply room with the elevator he was now in.

Snake shuddered now as he looked around. So far, the whole base had reminded him of the inside of the nuclear disposal facility on Shadow Moses. That place and his short time there was a period in his personal history he was not too fond of, and being reminded of it now brought a foreboding feeling.

Snake shook his head. He needed to concentrate on the mission. He lifted the M9 and fired into the back of the first guard's head. As he fell to the floor, the man in front of the elevator ran over to see what had happened, and Snake fired a second dart. However, he only managed to hit the man's arm.

"What the hell?" the guard exclaimed. He must have felt the dart's prick, and started for Snake's hiding place. As he reached it, Snake stood up. The surprised guard raised his AK to fire, but Snake punched him in the face before he could manage. The guard fell to the ground, and the tranquilizers took effect. He was out.

Snake moved to the elevator, pushed the button labeled B2, and waited. Soon, there was a _ding,_ and the doors swung open.

There was a gun pointed in Snake's face.

"Damn it," Snake cursed. He was caught. He started to run ideas through his head as to what to do, when it suddenly occurred to him who was holding the gun.

It was a teenage girl, no older than sixteen. She had short brown hair and blue eyes that stared at Snake with intense hatred. She was wearing some kind of jungle camoflage, and her gun was a .50 caliber action express Desert Eagle. She had another one in her left hand, which hung at her side. There was blood smeared all over her and dripping from her hair.

"Who are you?" she demanded. Her voice sounded too young for her body.

"Why should I tell you?" Snake responded. He had no idea what a bloody teen was doing here, but he had no time to find out.

"You shut up or I'll paint the walls red with your blood." Her eyes held that same look of burning anger.

Snake had to find a way out of this. He could probably reach her arm and twist it away before she fired, but what about her other gun? That plan wouldn't work.

"Who are you?" she repeated. Snake decided that it would be best to tell her.

"Solid Snake," he answered. At those words, her eyes blinked rapidly and she reeled backwards in shock. Snake knew this was his only chance. He lunged forwards, grabbing her gun arm and twisting. She fired the gun, but it missed. The girl raised her left arm to fire, but Snake brought up his foot, kicking the gun out of her hand. He then pulled downwards, bringing her to her knees.

She was better than he had anticipated. She did a strange, low-to-the-ground cartwheel, connecting her boot with Snake's jaw. He was sent sprawling into the open elevator. He shook his head and saw that the girl had retrieved her guns. She took a last look at Snake a ran out of his view. Before Snake could even think about what had just happened, the doors slid shut, and he was riding down to floor B2.

Snake got to his feet and called Otacon.

"Otacon, I just encountered this girl."

"Was it Anya?" Otacon asked hopefully.

"No, she was too old. Anya has to be around seven years old, and this girl was more than twice that age."

"Where is she now?"

"She ran off. But whoever she was, she could fight. She was covered in blood, and had two guns."

"Hmm, that's weird. A teenage soldier at a Patriot complex? Snake, this thing keeps getting weirder and weirder. We need to get to the bottom of this."

"Yeah. I'll let you know if I see the girl again. Snake out."

Shutting off the codec just as the doors swung open, Snake raised the M9, only to be greeted with something that further connected the THOR complex and Shadow Moses.

Blood. Everywhere. He was in a small hallway that had blood everywhere. Gathering in puddles on the floor, running down the walls, dripping from dead bodies. Snake did a quick count and saw that there were five guards total, all dead. Upon further inspection, Snake saw that they all died of gunshot wounds.

"Did...did that girl do this?" Snake wondered aloud. She had been drenched in blood. Was she that good?

Snake knew that he had to move fast. If that girl done this while leaving the second floor basement, maybe something had happened to Anya. Snake ran down the hallway, switching to his SOCOM. At the end of the hall was a level two PAN door that swung open upon Snake's approach.

Snake was in large room. There were three stone pillars on each side of the room, stretching up to the ceiling thirty feet above. Other than that, the room was bare. There were no more doors. A dead end.

"Anya?" Snake called out. No response. He looked around, but she was nowhere in sight.

"She's not here anymore," announced a strange voice. Snake followed it and saw a man leaning up against one of the pillars. He had on a black trench coat that was unbuttoned all the way, revealing his fit chest that was criss-crossed with livid scars. The man was wearing a black mask over his face, and there was long brown hair hanging over his shoulders. He laughed. His voice sounded strange through the mask.

"Who are you?" demanded Snake, training his SOCOM on the man. The man laughed again and stopped leaning against the column.

"My name isn't important."

"Wait a second, are you Dog?"

"Ha! Well, my reputation proceeds me." Reaching into his coat, the man drew what Snake recognized as an IMI Uzi sub-machine gun.

"Drop that right now!" Snake ordered.

"No can do, buddy. You see, I just let the girl I was guarding escape, and now my ass is gonna' be on the line. I'm feeling a little trigger happy!"

_Let the girl he was guarding escape?_

"Who was that girl? Where's Anya?" This was confusing.

"I don't know who the girl is, I was just ordered to guard her. As for Anya, well, she was never here. It's not my job to watch that little bitch."

_Damn you Ocelot._ Snake had fallen into his trap.

"In any case, I can't let you go. My orders were to kill you when you showed up, so that's just what I'm going to do."

Dog was fast. Before Snake could realize what had happened, he had reached behind his back and whipped out a grenade launcher. He fired at Snake, and Snake had barely jumped out of the way as the grenade hit the pillar behind him. There was a tremendous explosion that sent Snake flying into a wall, and the pillar toppled over in front of the PAN door. There was no way out now.

Snake quickly got to his feet, looking around. Dog was hiding behind one of the remaining pillars.

"Since we're about to battle and one of us may very well die," Dog shouted from somewhere, "I might as well tell you my full code. I am Ballistic Dog, ex-FOX-HOUND, and the best damn soldier you'll ever meet."

_**Ballistic Dog (Josh Keaton)**_

"Ex-FOX-HOUND?" Snake asked.

"Yeah. But working for them was a real bitch. You of all people should know, right Snake?" Dog then revealed himself. He was now holding two Uzis. "Let's get this party started!"

Snake hid behind one of the pillars as it was riddled with bullets. Dog laughed hysterically as bullet after bullet peppered the column, sending chunks of stone and dust flying. The hail of lead ceased for a moment, and Snake leaned out, firing a few bullets back. Dog had already taken cover, and Snake moved towards a column that was closer to his target. But he didn't expect what happened next.

Dog appeared on Snake's left. He had ditched the Uzis and was firing two M9's, just like the one Snake had, except that these fired bullets. But what caught Snake off guard was that Dog wasn't on the ground. He was running horizontally across the far wall. Snake returned fire and hid, catching a glimpse of Dog jumping off the wall and behind another pillar.

"Yeah, that was a pretty cool trick, huh?" he shouted. "Don't know if you've ever seen any John Woo movies, but that guy is a genius. Hong Kong action flicks are the best." He laughed again and revealed himself, this time sliding along the ground. Snake strafed across from one pillar to the next, firing the rest of the SOCOM clip. As he hid again, Snake holstered the SOCOM and grabbed the AK he had found in the truck. He rolled out from cover, firing a burst at Dog's position. But Dog had already moved, was running along the wall again. He had switched back to the Uzis, and Snake had to hide once more. Dog hit the ground Snake heard him reloading. Snake blind fired the rest of the clip in the direction of the sound.

The assault rifle was empty now, and Snake drew the SOCOM again and reloaded it. He leaned out from cover. Dog was nowhere in sight. But then he appeared once more, this time holding his grenade launcher.

"Let's see how well you do against this!" Dog screamed, and fired a grenade. Snake moved as the pillar he was using for cover a second ago exploded, and the whole room shook. There was dust and smoke everywhere, blocking out Snake's vision.

"Hah. You're pretty good Snake," commented Dog. Snake fired two shots in the direction of his voice, but he was sure he missed. "Unfortunately, we're out of time. We'll meet again. In the meantime, I suggest you move."

The sound of the grenade launcher getting ready to fire again. Snake moved and for the third time, a huge explosion barely missed. Looking behind himself, Snake could barely see that Dog had blown away the rubble blocking the door. Dog's silhouette passed through the door, and was gone. Snake followed after him, and saw Dog in the elevator at the end of the bloody hallway. The doors closed as Dog waved goodbye. He had gotten away.

Snake coughed a few times and called Otacon.

"We've got a problem."

"What Snake?"

"Anya wasn't there, it was an ambush set up by Ocelot."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but now we have no idea where Anya is." Snake growled in frustration.

"Shoot. Snake, you're gonna' have to sneak around the complex then and pick up whatever info you can. We need to find Anya!"

"Right, I'll do that." Snake coughed again.

"Hey Snake, you didn't happen to bring your cigarettes this time, did you?"

"No, Mei Ling was too damn thorough in her search. I couldn't bring them in this time."

"Then why are you coughing?"

"Because there's a lot of dust and crap in my throat, stop being so paranoid Otacon."

"I'm just saying that you need to be in your best possible shape for missions like these is all."

"Yeah, sure, _mother."_

"Alright, don't take my advice. Just be careful, okay."

Snake laughed a little at his friend's over-carefulness. "Okay, I will. Snake out."

End Note: Please R&R as usual. I want to hear the theories or my head will explode!


	8. Chapter 7: The Fallen of Earth

Author's Note: Oh boy everyone, did I mess up. Okay, let me try to explain. You see, I've already posted a version of chapter seven entitled "Upwards". Unfortunately, I somehow wrote the chapter out of order. As in, it doesn't happen until later. So, I'm replacing "Upwards" with this, the correct chapter, and "Upwards" will happen later. It's the same as "Upwards" until after Snake and Otacon's codec conversation about the Gustav.

On a more positive note...MGS4 HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED FOR PS3! WOOHOO! YES! Of course, this now means that I have a deadline to finish my fic, because this will pale in comparison to the true MGS4 when completed. Also, in addition to MGS4 (as if that isn't enough), Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (Yeah, I spelled it right) has been announced, which is basically a revamped MGS3. But the best part is...IT"S BEING RELEASED WITH ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THE ORIGINAL MSX METAL GEAR 1 AND 2! THAT'S RIGHT! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN AMERICA, GAMERS WILL BE ABLE TO LEGALLY PLAY THE GAMES THAT STARTED IT ALL IN ENGLISH! YEAH!

Finally, an apology that it took so long to get back to the story, but that Science Project is fucking with my whole life, not to mention that I got final exams coming up...I hate highschool...

Anyways, please enjoy...

Metal Gear Solid 4:  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 7: The Fallen of Earth

Snake had managed to get back to the first floor, but he couldn't find any info. No documents lying around, no chatting guards to overhear, and no trace of that teenage girl. He had hit a dead end.

At least some good had come out of his sneaking around. Snake had found a bunch of ammo for his guns in a storage room to the south, including darts, so he had been tranqing any guards he saw. He had interrogated the ones he could, but they didn't seem to know anything.

On top of that, there didn't seem to be any way to reach the higher levels. Snake was sure there were more floors, the complex was too tall for there not to be. But he had found no stairs, and all the elevators he came across only went to the basement levels. He had considered going down to the first floor basement, but had decided against it. He had contacted Mei Ling about it, and according to her satellite photos, the first floor basement was nothing but a large room, devoid of any objects, and full of at least fifteen guards. Snake wouldn't stand a chance against them, although he had wondered why so many guards would be in an empty room. Unfortunately, Mei Ling's photos hadn't been able to shed any light on that topic.

Snake was just about to search the first floor over for the fourth time when he received a codec call. It was from Otacon.

"Snake, I found some info on that 'Gustav' you mentioned," Otacon said.

"You did? What is it?"

"Well, when I first looked around, I just kept getting back results for military hardware and weapons. Gustav is a codename for more than a few helicopters and tanks out there, most of them Russian, but a few belong to other countries that have their own military."

"So the Gustav is just a tank or helicopter?" Snake asked. If so, it didn't seem particularly special. After all, he had destroyed a fair share of those in battle before.

"Wait, I'm not done. Anyways, I felt that something like a helicopter or tank was too obvious, so I kept searching. And then it hit me."

"What?" Snake demanded.

"You remember the 'Treason Incident' that happened two years ago?"

"How could I forget?" Snake replied, thinking for a second.

Two years ago, a Patriot base in Missouri containing a large library of records was compromised. The records dealt with everything the Patriots kept secret, obviously the biggest being that fact that they truly ran the country. Somehow, someone had gotten their hands on copies of those files and left the base with them. Then, the person had put the info on a small unknown website. With the GW system ruined from Emma's virus, the Patriot's were unable to erase the data as easily as they would have liked. They had managed to kill whoever had blown their cover and delete the info, but not before at least someone had read it, someone who believed it. That person spread the info. Most people didn't believe it, but a few did spread the info in turn. And it had been continuing on for two years. All of America had heard about it eventually, although the government had assured everyone that it was all a hoax. Most of the people had forgotten or just took the government's word for it, but there were still a few of those determined to spread the 'truth'.

In incident had been labeled by the Patriots as the Treason Incident, because the info threatened "The Patriots." It was fortunate that the government had been able to put most of it on the down-low. Whether Snake and Otacon liked it or not, they knew that the Patriot's had to continue to exist for America to remain as it was.

"Well Snake," Otacon continued, "there were more files than just that one that were stolen. After that leak, another file showed up on a different site, which I found a few minutes ago. It's about Zanzibar Land, something the Patriots wanted to keep secret."

"Zanzibar Land?" Snake exclaimed. He hated to think of that place. It haunted his memories almost as much as Shadow Moses.

"See, Big Boss had been planning on mass producing a scrapped version of Metal Gear, much like RAY was. But he never did, although the files don't say why."

"What was the model?"

"Metal Gear G, short for Gustav. A mass produced Metal Gear that was designed to use the lowliest of soldiers as pilots."

"You think that they have a scrapped Metal Gear here?"

"I'm sure Snake, it's the only thing that makes sense. The info just got put on the site recently, so the Patriots are the only ones who could know about the Gustav to actually make it."

"Wait a second, that's what this is about? Another Metal Gear?"

"I don't think so. See, the Gustav is too small time to be the center of whatever the Patriots are doing, certainly too small for Ocelot to have come all the way out here. The reason is because the Gustav doesn't have nuclear capability. It was designed for the sole purpose of being used in combat, not as a nuclear weapon."

"And they must not be planning to mass produce either, since the complex isn't very big."

"So there must only be one model there."

"But why go to the trouble of having a single non-nuclear Metal Gear, that was meant to be mass produced, built all the way out here?"

"I don't know Snake," Otacon said warily, "but I don't like it. You need to be careful when you go looking for it."

"Looking for it?" Snake asked suddenly.

"Well, it's our only lead, and it may be real important. Do you have any idea where the Gustav is?"

"They said it was on the roof, but that's the problem, there's no way up farther from the first floor."

"Snake, if you were stuck, why didn't you just call? The only way to the roof is an exterior cargo elevator in the back. You'll have to go outside and circle around the base to find it."

"That's it? I've spent the last half-hour looking around for nothing?"

"Calm down, Snake. You know what Shakespeare said, "Naught's all-"

"Otacon," Snake interrupted, "don't. I get the picture. Snake out."

Snake had tried to leave out the same way he came in, but a bunch of guards had taken it over, and he couldn't risk fighting them. He figured that there must have been another way out, so he called Mei Ling. She said that there was another door leading outside from the 1st floor basement.

"But isn't there a ton of guards down there?" Snake questioned.

"Yeah, but there's a small hallway before that room, and there's a level two door there that leads outside."

"If you say so."

He followed Mei Ling's advice and traveled down to the 1st floor basement. Just as Mei Ling had promised, there was a level two door waiting for him. He passed through it outside.

He was beneath the metal balcony that he had seen Ocelot and The Dragon on earlier. Looking around, he saw the steel supports holding up the balcony going perpendicular to the direction he was facing. The small clearing was right there, and beyond that the woods. Snake started forwards when his codec started to beep.

"What is it?" Snake asked.

"Snake, look out, there's a lot of electronic interference in that area." It was Mei Ling.

"Interference? But there wasn't any the last time I came through here. Unless..." He shut off the codec and looked around. It was hard to see in the daylight, but sure enough, there were lines of blinking red lights blocking every exit from the clearing. SF1 generators. They had set them up while he was inside.

He turned around, only to find the door he had just come through open, and a guard setting up another SF1 generator in the doorway.

"Stop that!" demanded Snake, pointing his SOCOM at the man. But he was too late. The guard had finished his work as the door slid shut, blocking him from Snake's view. Snake was completely trapped now.

"Hello Snake, how are you?"

Snake raised the SOCOM up to the balcony. Standing there was Ocelot, twirling a revolver in both hands.

"Ocelot," Snake growled.

"I'm surprised that you're still alive. Dog was supposed to eliminate you for me."

"He ran away instead of killing me."

"Really? Well, that's interesting. Now why would he do that? I'm going to have a talk with him. He's very unpredictable. I had my own doubts about hiring him in the first place, I knew he would be hard to control. But, he possessed a quality that I found very admirable. Something I was looking for in an..." He took a long, deep breath and holstered his revolvers. Snake kept his gun trained on him.

"...apprentice," Ocelot finished.

"Apprentice?"

"What, you haven't noticed that I'm getting up there in years? Probably because you're not so fresh yourself, but who's complaining? I'll admit his taste in weaponry isn't as experienced as mine, but, to each his own."

"And just what quality did he possess that you admired so much?"

"Why, that he hated you so much Snake."

"What?" Snake found this a little surprising. He had never met Dog before today; why did Dog hate him?

"In case you're wondering why, why don't you ask him next time you see him? Because I _will_ arrange a next time, Snake. But, eyes on the present, the future can wait..." Ocelot gestured to Snake's right. Snake looked over and saw someone outside the SF1 field. But this was like no one Snake had ever seen before, except for maybe Vulcan Raven.

This man was huge. His muscles bulged out like a toad's throat under the grey jacket he was wearing. His biceps were the size of large dogs. He had on brown combat pants and his blonde hair was shaved to a buzz. He had a tiny head with a face that wore a strange expression: anger and bliss, combined together. Even more impressive than this man's muscles, however, was his weaponry. He had a Stinger rocket launcher draped over his right soldier, and a Nikita remote controlled missile launcher in his left hand. He wore a belt covered in what seemed like endless Claymore mines.

"Allow me to introduce The Rhino, the Fallen of the Earth," Ocelot say heraldically.

**_Explosive Soldier- The Rhino (Peter Lurie)_**

"Well then, I expect you two to battle to the death. I would do it myself, but I have business elsewhere. Good bye, Snake." And Ocelot disappeared through the door behind him.

Snake looked over at the monster of a man that was The Rhino. How was he going to fight? Was he going to stay outside the SF1 field and simply fire at Snake from the outside? But the electronic jamming would screw with the Stinger's targeting system, and the Nikita's remote control would be rendered useless. So what would he do?

Snake got his answer. To his complete surprise, The Rhino laughed and _stepped through the field_. He jerked for only a second, but then he was over it, and then laughed again. He was now inside the field with Snake.

Snake sighed grimly and prepared for battle.

End Note: Don't worry, The Rhino's history will be explained next chapter. And, once more, in case no one knew, Peter Lurie did the voice of Vulcan Raven.


	9. Chapter 8: The Rhino

Author's Note: Yo, I'm back, and here's the next chapter. Nothing really to say, except to please enjoy...

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 8: The Rhino

Snake knew he was in trouble. The man maybe fifteen yards away from him, The Rhino, had just stepped through an SF1 field and barely grunted. With his muscles, he looked like he could snap a tree trunk in half without breaking a sweat, and the uncountable explosives everywhere on his body didn't help Snake's morale at all.

"So, it appears that the great Solid Snake has decided to pay us a visit. I'm honored." Rhino's voice was deep and rough, but there was also a hint of smugness beneath his aggressive tone.

"So what's your story?" asked Snake as he tried to think of what to do. "Did you take too many steroids and fall into a vat of nuclear waste?"

"This isn't a comic book or game, my friend," The Rhino said in that same strange voice.

"Yeah, but it was worth a shot. So, mind telling me exactly why you got Earth?"

Rhino laughed as though Snake had said something painfully obvious. He asked, "Why do you think?"

Snake shrugged. "Maybe you're like that Dragon guy. Maybe you'll magically summon a landslide from the air." Snake tried to make the Rhino angry. People always messed up when they were angry. But his efforts were failing.

"Tell me Snake," said The Rhino, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice, "what do you believe most think of when they think of Earth?"

"I dunno, dirt?"

"The Earth is nothing so simple as mud and stone. Plant and tree. Sand and rock. No, that is just what people can see. What the Earth truly is is thousands of miles beneath our feet. She is fire and heat. She is force and energy. She is magma and explosions. Only those who have witnessed her true self, have bathed in her blood, have listened to her heartbeat, truly understand what she is. She is alive."

He lowered the menacing rocket launchers from his shoulders, letting them droop to the ground. Snake took this opportunity to raise his SOCOM and pull the trigger. The blast echoed around them and Snake knew he didn't miss...

Yet The Rhino was unharmed. He laughed his condescending laugh as Snake pulled the trigger over and over. Each shot hit him, yet each shot had no visible effect. Finally, as a bullet struck The Rhino in the left temple and bounced harmlessly away, Snake stopped. This guy was bulletproof, somehow, he shrugged off the shots. And Snake was sure it wasn't another one of Ocelot's gizmos, because it would have been affected by the SF1 field.

All in all, Snake wasn't very alarmed. He was used to facing foes with inhuman powers, but this was a first for him. Even guys like Vulcan Raven couldn't stop a bullet.

"It's useless Snake. Mother Earth gives me her protection everywhere I go, but one as ignorant of her true beauty as you wouldn't understand. Well, I suppose someone wants you dead, otherwise we wouldn't have been called in. I suppose I should get right too it. But first-"

He grabbed one of the mines from his belt and threw it. Snake started to memorize where it landed so he wouldn't step on it, but there was no need. The instant the mine hit the ground, it melted into what Snake realized was molten lava. The ground had melted around the mine into lava. The Rhino tossed another, and another. Soon, a river of lava sat between Snake and Rhino. There was no way across.

"Now Snake, prepare to hear the beating of Mother Earth's heart!"

He fired a missile from the Nikita launcher. Snake knew that he couldn't remote control it with all of the interference, but it still could be aimed. Snake dove out of the way just as the missile sped past him and went through the field. The Rhino fired another missile, which Snake also dodged. During this deadly dance, Snake managed to call Gunsmith.

"Gunsmith, I need help, it's-"

"Rhino, right?"

"How do you know?"

"I'm not deaf. I can hear the explosions around you."

"Why can't I hurt him?"

Gunsmith took a deep breath. "The Rhino was born on Hawaii. His parents died soon after and he was left at an orphanage. But the orphanage was actually a front for a cult. They operated by turning all the orphaned children they received into cultists. They worshiped the Earth's core, calling it the Heart of the Earth. Rhino became just like them all, and he rose quickly in their ranks. Soon he became their leader. All was going good for Rhino until it was discovered that they held human sacrifices by tossing victims into a cauldron of boiling water and keeping them under. Rhino escaped justice and joined the army, with an insane notion that he could somehow destroy the US government from within. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked."

"He's that old?"

"Yeah, I'll get to that. Anyways, he survived the attack, but the explosions and death around him just reminded him more of his old ways. He became obsessed with volcanoes, visiting them as often as he could. We're sure now that he probably tossed a few people into some. Anyways, he became a mercenary shortly after and the Fallen picked him up."

"That doesn't explain his bullet-proof skin!"

"Well, see, during his expeditions to volcanic areas, he bathed in volcanic ash and other...well, hotter things."

"How did he survive?"

"We're not sure. He says that Mother Earth protected him, but it's probably just deluded idiocy. Somehow, after he took that wonderful little swim of his, his skin became near impenetrable. His rock-hard skin earned him the nickname 'The Rhino'. As an additional bonus, the hormones that cause aging were slowed, which explains why he looks so young."

"What about his little lava mines?"

"Those? They were something he stole from a military test lab. They heat up the surrounding area to ridiculously high temperatures in seconds. He creates the lava by melting the Earth with them. Anything else?"

"Yeah...HOW THE HELL DO I HURT HIM!"

"Oh, that...yeah, well, I'm not sure."

"THANKS A LOT!" and Snake cut off the codec conversation just as he missed another missile. He was nearly out of breath, and the lava was sweltering hot.

"Snake, you are pathetic. Take this!" shouted The Rhino through the heat waves in the air. Snake heard the sound of another, yet distinctly different rocket launcher. The Stinger.

Snake jumped over it and kicked down. A technique that he had only used once before. The rocket provided just enough force for Snake to leap back into the air...and over the SF1 field.

"What the?" shouted The Rhino in anger. Snake drew the SOCOM and fired the rest of the clip, knowing that nothing would happen. But then an idea hit Snake. He jammed a fresh clip into the gun and ran around the SF1 field. He fired his gun just as The Rhino released another Stinger shot. The two projectiles hit each other in mid-air. The rocket exploded in The Rhino's face, and he stumbled backwards. It had had an effect. But he was still standing. Snake, without thinking, fired the rest of the SOCOM clip. Somehow the explosion had weakened Rhino's skin, and the bullets penetrated. Rhino didn't shout in pain once, but Snake knew that he must have felt it. Rhino coughed up blood and laughed.

"Damn, that was a nice trick," he said. "But it's useless. There is nothing between me and you except this field, and as you saw earlier, it was no obstacle."

"Yeah, but that's not what you should be worried about."

"What?"

Snake was holding something in his hand. It was one of The Rhino's melting discs. It had bounced over to Snake during the explosion. Snake tossed it at Rhino's feet now. The man had no time to move as his feet we instantly consumed by fresh lava. Yet Rhino still did not scream in the agony he should have been feeling. He just laughed again.

"Holy shit, that did it."

Rhino laughed like a mad man, and then lifted the Nikita launcher again. But instead of shooting it, he tossed it. It sailed ungracefully through the air and landed at Snake's feet. Snake picked it up, eyeing it.

"Why?" he shouted.

"Because you have won, and you deserve a victory prize." Once again, Rhino laughed his laugh and reached into his pocket. He tossed a small object which Snake caught in the air. A level 3 PAN card.

"Snake," said The Rhino, who seemed rather calm for a man waist deep in lava, "continue fighting. I was not able to stop you, and neither was The Falcon. It shall be curious to see if you emerge victorious. Just be careful of Dog. Even we Fallen do not trust him."

Snake wondered what he meant by that.

"Snake, listen to her heart. She is true." Then, The Rhino brought the Stinger launcher under the lava in a furious swipe. Snake realized what had just happened. If an explosive was still in the launcher...

And just as he thought that, the Rhino disappeared in the column of molten lava that shot into the air. Snake moved away just in time to avoid it come splashing back down. When all had cleared, the Rhino was gone...

End Note: Please R&R...


	10. Chapter 9: Upwards

Author's Note: Thanks for all the kind words, I hope this time I won't go on a hiatus that lasts a few months. Anyways, I spent yesterday pondering what would happen next in the story, so here it is...

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 9: Upwards

Snake had left the lava field behind and was rounding the building to reach the external cargo elevator. He had strapped the Nikita to his back, but it was heavy. He had hiked miles and miles carrying heavy loads to pass physical exams and tests for Fox-Hound, so he was used to it, but it was still annoying and limited his mobility. It would hinder his ability in a firefight, so he had to avoid them now even more than ever.

He found the elevator on the eastern side of the building. It was guarded by a single sentry, who Snake quickly dispatched with a tranquilizer dart to the head. As the guard slumped to the ground, Snake ran over, hid the body behind some crates, and then got inside the elevator.

It was very simple, just a metal platform with a terminal and guard railings. It was attached to metal supports jutting out from the side of the building, which went all the way to the top. Looking up, Snake realized for the first time just how big the building was. It wasn't very inconspicuous, especially since it was in the countryside, but because of the Patriot's reach, it wasn't surprising that it's existence wasn't questioned.

Snake looked at the terminal and discovered a painted on notice that it required a level 3 PAN card to operate. He had one with him, and so the terminal sprung to life as he approached. He pressed the button labeled RF and, with a jerk and an electronic hum, the elevator started to rise. Things did not go very well after that.

Apparently, another sentry had appeared around the corner just as Snake had started up, and Snake saw him shouting something into his radio before opening fire with his AK. As the bullets bounced off the metal, Snake returned fire and hit the man with a tranq, putting him down. Unfortunately, the clip was empty. Before Snake could reload, he heard someone shout above him and looked up.

The man must have radioed to the roof, because Snake saw a guard falling towards him holding some kind of rifle, and two more on the roof poised to jump as well. Snake dropped the M9; there was no time to reload it. Instead, he grabbed the SOCOM and fired two quick shots at the falling man. The man was struck in mid air and, instead of landing perfectly on the platform as he had intended, missed his target and slammed onto the guard railings, causing the elevator to shake. He groaned for a second, and then he slid over the edge and fell out of sight.

Above him, the two other guards had taken a hint from their defeated comrade, and started to open fire from the roof. Unfortunately for them, whatever weapon they were using had poor accuracy, behind none of the shots came close to Snake. He holstered the SOCOM and grabbed the AK off his back. He fired a quick burst at each man, only striking one. The man grabbed him bleeding arm in pain and lost him footing, toppling from the roof and landing on the elevator next to Snake.

The last man had decided on one other course of action. Snake saw him holding a small object in his hand just before he dropped it. It hit the elevator and bounced over to Snake's feet. A grenade of some kind. Snake had no time to react as it went off, revealing itself to be a smoke grenade as the gas was forced into Snake's eyes and throat, burning and blinding him. He started to wave his arms about as though to force the smoke away, but before it all dissipated, Snake heard and felt, for the third time, the sound of something big slamming onto the elevator. Snake opened his eyes to see the smoke gone, and the guard from the roof standing next to him with a Glock 17 handgun pointed at his face.

"You're finished," said the guard proudly. Snake almost groaned in exasperation, until he recognized the man's voice.

"Johnny?" Snake asked. The guard suddenly drew and intake of breath and then groaned. There was a loud gurgling noise coming from his gut.

"Oh, not again, not now!" he moaned, dropping the handgun to hold his stomach. Snake took the opportunity to wack the butt of the SOCOM against Johnny's neck, and he dropped. Snake sighed and shook his head. Judging by the foul smell that had just entered the air, the man would wake up with a nasty surprise in his pants. Snake wondered what the guard was doing _here_ of all places, but then remembered that Johnny had been at far stranger places, and so ignored it. Besides, the elevator had come to a stop, and Snake was on the roof. He grabbed Johnny and dragged him off the elevator. He decided that Johnny wouldn't appreciate being found by another one of the guards asleep and covered in shit, so he put the man behind a stack of barrels. Snake then turned his head a few times to scan the roof.

Nothing. No guards, no Gustav, nothing. Other than a few ventilators and parapets, the roof was completely bare.

"There's nothing here," Snake whispered to himself.

Snake heard it just in time. There was a click, a beep, and Snake jumped as the elevator behind him exploded. He was heaved through the air, flipping over twice before landing hard on his back. Dust and twisted metal rained onto the roof, and Snake shielded his eyes as he attempted to get up. The dust cleared, and Snake saw that the elevator had been totaled. Snake remembered the beep just before the explosion. Someone had rigged the underside of the elevator with C4.

"What do we have here, I wonder?"

Snake whirled around, the AK raised, only to have an M9 pointed at his skull.

"Looks like the doggy just sniffed out his prey." It was Dog. Snake cursed and opened fire. The entire burst missed though, because Dog had leapt away and jumped on top of the nearest parapet. Snake tried to fire again, but the rifle was empty. He cursed once more and dropped it as Dog laughed at him.

"That's the whole problem with guns," he said, "you have to reload them every now and then. I gotta' say I enjoy it. Nothing eases my hands more than sliding a fresh magazine into it's place."

"You sound just like your boss," Snake observed.

"That's what he said. I honestly couldn't care one way or the other. He's a good man, though, and that's why I listen to him."

"I wouldn't exactly call him a good man," Snake said bitterly. "He's more like a triple-crossing sadist lost in his own demented cowboy fantasies."

"Well," said Dog shrugging, "good is a relative term. Besides, any chance I can get to kill you is a good one, and I figured joining up with him would present me with the most opportunities."

"So why'd you turn tail and run last time?"

Dog stopped smiling. "I was just testing you. I never kill important men during the first fight, no matter how much I hate them."

"Ocelot mentioned that. So why _do_ you hate me so much?"

"You mean you can't put two and two together?" Dog laughed again, and Snake thought he could almost see his face through the black mask he was wearing. "Snake, tell me, what is the one thing that _anyone_ would take revenge for?"

When Snake didn't answer, Dog did.

"You killed someone very close to me. My family. My only family."

"Makes sense. I've killed a lot of people."

"Don't you speak light of it like that!" roared Dog furiously. He whipped Snake's face with the handgun, nearly breaking his nose. Snake grunted, trying to show as little pain as possible.

"So who was it?"

"Why don't you figure it out for yourself?" Dog said, and then he waved his hand. On the other side of the roof where there was nothing before, in a split second a large, vaguely familiar vehicle appeared from nowhere. It had long metal legs that were bent backwards like a birds, even with talons at the base of the legs. The vehicle itself even looked bird-like. The whole machine appeared to be a giant robotic ostrich. Snake knew what it was.

"Metal Gear Gustav," he said. Dog nodded and then shouted at the cockpit.

"Is it ready to go?"

The cockpit opened up and someone jumped out. As the figure approached, Snake saw that it was a beautiful Hispanic woman. She was wearing a flowing red dress, and her long, raven hair looked strange. Almost...electric, as did her bright blue eyes. She did not look happy.

"It is," she said sadly.

"Good," Dog said. "Go tell your brother that I have Snake and that I'll take care of him."

The woman nodded again walked over to the edge of the roof. Snake wondered what she was going to do, and suddenly, blue sparks started to form at her fingertips. The sparks grew in size until there covered her whole body. She started to rise into the air, and the sparks had become full-blown bolts of electricity that arced over her and the surrounding rooftop. She looked back at them, and Snake saw her eyes glowing blue. Then she moved off the roof and disappeared from sight.

"The Firefly?" Snake asked.

"You seem to know a lot about us," asked Dog. He voice was layered with suspicion. "But yes, that is her."

There was a long silence. Finally, Dog started towards Gustav, walking backwards with the handgun still trained on Snake. Snake did not move, even though he knew what was coming next.

"So how did you camoflage it that good?" he asked, trying to buy time to come up with a plan. "Stealth-camo leaves a haze in the air, especially if you did it with something that big."

"Firefly took care of that. She's a technical whiz in addition to her...other talents, as you saw."

"Perfect camo," Snake muttered. "I wondered when they were gonna' get it down, but I didn't figure that a mercenary would do it."

"Well, shows how little you know."

Dog dropped the handgun. Snake grabbed his SOCOM to fire, but Dog had already backflipped into Gustav's cockpit, which shut him in instantly. The huge machine hummed to life and the head turned to stare at Snake. For the first time, Snake saw it's weaponry. There were two vulcan cannons attached to the neck, and two machine guns on each leg. There was also a rocket launcher on top of the head.

"Now Snake," shouted Dog over a speaker of some sort, "Let's see how well you fare against the Metal Gear Gustav!"

As the vulcan cannon barrels started to hum and spin, Snake holstered the SOCOM and drew the Nikita. He would need it.

End Note: We get a fight scene, see more of Dog, and get our first look at The Firefly this chapter, but it looks like a big battle is coming up. As always, please R&R!


	11. Chapter 10: Metal Gear Gustav

Author's Note: Oh yeah...prepare for the coolty.

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 10: Metal Gear Gustav

Instantly, the Gustav bounded forwards in one push of it's legs. Snake gasped at how quick the huge machine was, and dove out of the way just in time. Even so, the rush of wind sent him sprawling across the roof. He landed near the edge, nearly tumbling off into the abyss. As he got back to his feet and aimed the Nikita, he heard Dog's voice over the speaker.

"I bet you weren't expecting that! This is the fastest Metal Gear ever created! I hope you have something quick enough to dent it!"

_Try this,_ Snake thought as he fired the Nikita. He instantly focused on the tiny control pad on the side of the rocket. He had to guide the missile to it's destination. Keeping it's course steady, he looked up at the Gustav just in time to see it disappear from sight. Snake thought for a moment that it had cloaked itself, until he heard the sound of rushing wind above his head. He looked up just in time to see the Gustav coming towards him. It was going to crush him! He rolled out of the way as it smashed into the roof, blowing up a cloud of dust and forming a small crater in the concrete.

Coughing from the dust, Snake knew he was in trouble. Even though the Gustav hadn't used any of it's weapons yet, it was still very formidable. Unfortunately, just as he though that, he saw and heard the vulcan cannons preparing to fire as they spun in place. Snake took a quick chance. He dove behind a stone parapet, firing a single Nikita missile before he hit the ground. He then looked at the small screen on the side of the launcher and tried to focus on the target. The Gustav had opened fire, and Snake heard the hundreds of rounds tearing through his hiding place, as well as saw them on the screen. Luckily, Dog must not have seen the missile until the last second, because Snake managed to hit the left leg with it. The explosion sounded across the roof, and Snake looked out from cover.

The Gustav was stumbling around, it's left leg on fire and looking heavily damaged. Snake's suspicions were confirmed. For a Metal Gear to be that fast, it had to be poorly armored. A few more well placed missiles, and Snake would be in the clear. However, Dog must have thought the same thing, because the rocket launcher on top of the Gustav burst forth two missiles. Snake cursed and jumped away from the heavily damaged parapet as the missiles both slammed into it, blowing it to bits. Burning concrete rained down as Snake quickly fired another Nikita missile. This time, Dog saw it and, even with one of the Gustav's legs damaged, leaped over it and avoided it once more. What Snake needed for this fight was a Stinger. Unfortunately, the only one he had seen since entering the complex had gone under the lava with The Rhino.

As the Gustav came down a second time, Snake realized that storm clouds had rolled in during the fight. It started raining, and thunder could be heard in the distance. Just great. The last thing Snake needed now was limited visibility. He quickly hid behind another parapet, checking the Nikita. There was only one missile left in it, and he had no extra missiles on hand. He needed to make the last one count. It was at that instant that he heard more gunfire. But this kind was slower, with no hum. Dog must have been using the machine guns. They wouldn't destroy the parapet as fast as the vulcan cannon, but Snake still needed a plan.

The machine gun fire ceased and Snake heard the sound of more missiles being launched. He ran from his hiding place as two more missiles devastated it. That meant that the Gustav only had two missiles left. Unfortunately, there were no more parapets left on the roof. As the Gustav fired off it's two last missiles, Snake knew he only had one way to survive the explosives. He raised the Nikita and fired. The missile hit one of the Gustav's, and the resulting explosion destroyed all three. Snake was safe, but he no longer had any chance of beating Metal Gear. The Nikita was now just dead weight, and he dropped it to the roof. He drew the SOCOM, knowing it wouldn't be of much help, but it was something.

"That's it!" shouted Dog in triumph. "A fuckin' pea shooter? You gotta be kidding me! This is the legendary Solid Snake? And I thought my revenge would be more difficult!"

The Gustav started towards Snake, slowed considerably by it's damaged leg. Snake tried firing at the cockpit, but as he had guessed, it was bullet proof. He let off a few rounds at the crippled leg, but that didn't seem to do much either. With every passing second, Metal Gear was getting closer and closer. Snake was running out of room, and Dog knew it. He could easily shred Snake to bits with the vulcan cannons now, but Snake knew he would rather toy with him first. If the Gustav got too close, it would push Snake off the roof. And he couldn't survive a fall from this height.

As the Gustav neared, Snake tried the only option he had left. He ran right at it, hoping to pass between the legs. Unfortunately, Dog saw it coming.

"Oh no you don't!" he shouted. The Gustav lifted it's unscarred leg and brought it down, nearly crushing Snake. As it was, he was sent flying back by the force. Now he was really trapped. Unless...

The stack of barrels he had hidden Johnny behind were right next to him. He quickly jumped behind them and found Johnny, still unconscious and still smelly. He quickly checked him and found exactly what he needed.

He emerged from the barrels and rolled a small round object across the roof at the Gustav. Before it could move out of the way, the fragmentation grenade exploded near the undamaged leg, and it crumpled beneath it's own weight.

"Oh shit!" screamed Dog as the body of the Gustav came crashing down. It flung up another cloud of dust and remained motionless, it's only form of mobility destroyed. Unfortunately, Snake wasn't in the clear yet. He was still trapped, and the Gustav still could mow him down with the vulcans. In fact, it appeared that that was exactly what was going to happen, for the vulcan barrels started to hum and spin. Snake was out of options. There were no more grenades on Johnny. It was over.

"Snake, this is the end for you!" Dog screamed. "Now you'll pay for destroying my family!"

Snake's mind scrambled. In less than three seconds he would be dead. He had been beaten. This was it.

Up in the air, above the Gustav, a bolt of thunder flashed across the sky, illuminating the gleam of a blade for just a split-second. Then it was gone, and Snake saw something wonderful happen. The vulcan cannons exploded, flying off in different directions. Split in half.

"What the hell? Fine, take this!" Dog prepared to fired the machine guns, but two loud blasts sounded out. Each of the machine guns exploded as well. The Gustav was now immobile and weaponless.

"Who the hell is doing this!" shouted Dog in anger. Snake looked around, and then heard the sound of someone hitting the roof to his left. He turned his head and saw someone he hadn't seen in nearly five years.

"Hey Snake." It was Raiden.

**_Raiden (Quinton Flynn)_**

"Raiden!" Snake exclaimed.

"He's not the only one who came to save your butt," said a familiar female voice behind him. Snake whirled around and saw...

"Meryl?"

"The one and only?" she confirmed, smiling.

**_Meryl Silverburgh (Debi Mae West)_**

Snake stood dumbfounded for a few moments before the sound of the destroyed Gustav's cockpit opening made all three of them look up. Dog climbed out of the cockpit, his trenchcoat on fire. He quickly threw it off, revealing his bare torso, covered in livid scars. He was holding some kind of automatic rifle in his right hand, possibly a FA-MAS.

"SNAKE!" he yelled with hatred. He jumped from the top of Metal Gear and opened fire as he fell towards them.

"Look out!" shouted Raiden. He moved in front of Snake and reached behind his back. Snake only had to look at the sword sheath on Raiden's back to know. Raiden drew the HF Blade, the sword that Olga had left him, and swung it about madly in front of him. Every last bullet was deflected away from the three, protecting them from harm. Dog's gun ran empty as he landed on the roof in a crouch. He grunted and threw away the rifle, pulling the Beretta M92F from earlier out of his pocket. He aimed to fire, but Meryl raised her own gun, her trademark .50 Action Express Desert Eagle, and pulled the trigger. The shot blasted Dog's gun away, and he cursed loudly. He tried one last move, running at Snake and leaping in the air. He came down with a vicious drop-kick, but Snake saw it coming. He grabbed Dog's leg and then kicked him in the gut. Hard.

Dog had all the air knocked out of him as he was sent flying backwards through the air. He slammed into the side of Metal Gear, and it shuddered violently. It shook for one more second, and Snake saw what was going to happen. The Gustav had come crashing down right on the edge of the roof, practically teetering on the edge. All it needed was a little extra shove, and Dog had provided it.

With a loud creaking noise, the Gustav toppled off the roof. As Dog had been leaning on it, he lost his balance and fell after it. As the huge burning ball of metal slid out of sight, Dog screamed one last time, and was gone. Snake ran to the side and looked down just in time to see Metal Gear hit the ground far below with a very loud and very large explosion. It was totaled. And Dog was nowhere in sight.

The rain had stopped. Snake had returned to the other two, who were staring at him, as if asking him to say something. He did.

"What the hell are you two doing here?"

End Note:...Heh heh. Please R&R. Also, I highly recommend that anyone who enjoys this story take a look (and by that, R&R) the fic "Philanthropy" by Major Xero. Not only because it is a very well done fic that does Metal Gear justice, but because it is also a cross-over with Dead Heaven. There is some important backstory to Dead Heaven in that fic, and there are parts later on that one will not understand if they don't read Philanthropy. Check it out.


	12. Chapter 11: Explanation and Revelation

Author's Note: I just want to address a few concerns. First of all, awhile back there was a reviewer saying that Chuck Farley did the voice of Raven. Well, he did, but Chuck Farley is an alias. Peter Lurie is his real name, as well as the name he used when voicing Raven in The Twin Snakes. So I used Peter Lurie. Much like how I used Cam Clarke and Patric Zimmerman, among a few others, instead of the original aliases James Flinders and Patric Laine.

Secondly, I wish it to be known that I did not include The Firefly's introduction two chapters ago for a reason, although I won't say why. Just keep reading and enjoy.

And finally, a few characters are mentioned in this chapter that you may not have heard of. Since this fic does cross over with Philanthropy, you will have to read that fic to understand what's going on. It's by Major Xero, and it's very good. Go R&R it.

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 11: Explanation and Revelation

They had decided to talk around one of the many fires that were littered about the roof to dry off, even though with Snake's sneaking suit, the only thing that had gotten wet was his hair.

"Now, care to explain why you both came out here?"

"Well," started Raiden, "I came because I wanted to help you find Anya. I know you told me to forget about it and start my own life, but...I just couldn't sit there and do nothing. I feel just as responsible for the child as you do."

"Which means this is the last place you should be. We don't know if the Patriots are still monitoring you or not. If you die, the girl dies too."

"That's why I took extra precautions. See, I had Otacon..."

"Otacon?" exclaimed Snake. He activated the codec. "Otacon, you knew that Raiden was here?"

"Well...uh, yeah. I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"He asked me not to. He knew you'd get angry."

"Yeah, well, I'm angry now."

He cut the transmission and looked back at Raiden.

"So how long have you been here?"

"I got here about an hour ago. Otacon's been giving me help over my codec this whole time."

"Great. So I suppose whatever we've found out, he told you?"

"Yeah. I already know about Ocelot and The Fallen. But that Gustav was a surprise. Otacon neglected to mention it. I saw how much trouble you were in, so I decided to lend a hand."

Snake cursed under his breath and then turned to Meryl.

"What about you?"

Snake was very wary about letting Meryl come on missions with him. Ever since what had happened with Zidel and Metal Gear Zenrid, he hadn't let her come on a single mission for fear of her life. That was also why she hadn't come with him to the Big Shell. He felt a little overprotective though, and deep down he knew that Meryl was quite capable of handling herself, but he cared for her too much to keep putting her life in danger alongside his.

As expected, Meryl was annoyed at Snake's overprotectiveness.

"I came to help you out, why else?" she said testily.

"This place is too dangerous for-"

"A woman? Nice try Snake, but I know you don't mean that. I want to help you, and I'm gonna' do it. Besides, I haven't been on a mission forever. It gets boring waiting around for you to come back."

Snake didn't say aloud, but it sounded like there was something Meryl wasn't telling him. He decided that it would be best to ask later. Now that she was here, she wasn't going away. Snake would just have to accept that and have her help.

"Fine, but you have to be careful."

"Don't worry Snake, you know me."

Snake grunted. He wasn't very reassured. It had been nine years since Shadow Moses, but Meryl still tended to be impulsive in battle. He would just have to take her word on it.

"Have you found out anything about Anya?" Snake asked Raiden.

"Not really. I haven't been able to do much detective work since I got here. I got into a fight with this weird girl, met up with Meryl, and then we had to save you, so-"

"Weird girl?" Snake asked. Was he talking about the teen from earlier?

"Yeah, she was only about sixteen, but she came this close to beating me."

"Did you find out anything from her?"

"Nope, she just kinda ran off in the middle of the fight."

"I think I know who you're talking about, I met her earlier. She got away from me too, but not before we got into a scrap. She was good, too good for someone her age. You don't think the Patriot's are trying to pull of a secret child army do you?"

Raiden coughed. He obviously didn't want to speak about child armies, and Snake didn't blame him. She instead he looked at Meryl.

"I doubt it," she said quickly. "Why would only one be here if they had an entire army?"

"Maybe, but I never put anything past the Patriots."

"Wise policy," said a female voice. All three of them quickly looked in the direction of the voice to see the very girl they were discussing standing right there.

"You!" said Snake, quickly training his SOCOM on her.

"Snake, you can put that down, I doubt you want to shoot me."

Snake didn't lower his aim.

"Who are you?" asked Raiden.

"Me?" she said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "My name is..."

"Spill it," Snake demanded.

She looked at him with a face that was considerably sadder than it had been a second ago.

"Anya Gurlukovich."

**_Anya Gurlukovich (Jennifer Hale)_**

"Liar!" said Snake, "you're too old."

"It's the truth," she said adamantly. "If you don't believe me, then maybe you'd like to put your gun away and let me explain."

Snake grudgingly did so, but he made sure that it was all ready to go in case she pulled something.

"Thank you." The girl walked over and stood by the fire. She was totally soaked, and she warmed herself for a few minutes without saying anything.

"You said you were going to explain?" Raiden reminded her.

"Right. I'm Anya, and I've been living in this place my whole life. From the day I could walk, I was trained to be a soldier. I'm an expert at many different forms of martial arts, and not too shabby with firearms either. But I just recently found out that you were here, Snake, and I knew I had to meet you. I went to find you last night, but they caught me sneaking out, so they made me a prisoner. They had Dog guard me, but it was easy to escape from him, and the other guards that showed up to stop me. That's when I saw you. I didn't know who you were until you told me, and you attacked me. I ran off, and I know I shouldn't have. I've waited five long years to meet you. Ever since my mother died at the hands of a man calling himself Solid Snake."

"So you want me dead? Well, I've got bad news for you. The man that killed your mother is long dead."

"I know that. In fact I just found out not thirty minutes ago. I overheard Ocelot talking about it. So I tried to find you again, but this time it was so I could help you. I ran into that guy..." She pointed at Raiden. "...and we got into a bit of a misunderstanding. I ran away because I didn't have time to bother with him. I looked high and low until I found you here."

"You sound like you have no idea what you're doing. And you still haven't explained your age."

She got even sadder, and too Snake it looked as though she was about to cry. Finally, she spoke.

"The Patriots felt that I was too young to make an effective soldier. So they decided to expose me to numerous tests and serums. As a result, I'm a victim of accelerated aging, just like you Snake."

"That's why you look like a teenager then," observed Raiden. "But inside you're only seven?"

"Yeah, I've had to grow up real fast." She said the last words with a sniffle. Snake couldn't blame her. Even he didn't age as fast as she seemed to.

"So why did you decide to help me?"

"Because, the man who I thought I had to kill suddenly turned out to be one of my mother's best friends. I decided that I could honor her by helping him out, especially if it'll help me get revenge on the bastards who've lied to me all these years. You don't know what it's like to hate someone for nearly your whole life and then learn that he's innocent. Now it's like there's a part of me I can never fulfill. I can never bring my mother's killer to justice now because he's dead."

"Anya," started Raiden. Snake knew what he was going to say, but he wasn't so sure it was going to be good.

"What?" she asked, wiping a tear out of her eye.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way. The truth is...I killed the man who murdered your mother."

She tensed up quickly and then suddenly fell to the roof.

"Well that's just great," she said with forced sarcasm. Snake could hear more sniffles. She was definitely still a kid inside.

"Listen Anya," Raiden said, "you can't hate yourself, me, or anyone else just because you didn't get revenge. I had to kill him, the circumstances forced it upon me. And in a way, I wanted him dead too. But because he's gone, you can't beat yourself up. Like you said, you want to help us, right? Well, get up and pull yourself together. Your mother loved you very much."

"And how would you know?" she asked angrily.

"Because she told us herself. Her last request was for us to find and protect you. She gave her life so we could do just that. And we're going to do whatever it takes to make sure that she didn't die for nothing."

Anya didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, she stood up and looked at Raiden.

"Fine, then let's get going."

"One problem," Snake pointed out.

"What's that?" Meryl asked.

"We have no idea what to do next. We've destroyed Metal Gear, we've found Anya, and we don't know where Ocelot is."

"Yes we do," Anya said.

"What do you mean?"

"When I overheard Ocelot earlier, he mentioned that he was going there." She pointed to something out over the treetops. In the distance, Snake could make out what looked like a lake, and next to that, a large mountain.

"Why there?" Raiden asked.

"I'm not sure. But I know that there's a heliport and boating dock over there. He might be planning to leave."

"Well we can't let him escape," said Meryl. "We're going to have to go find him!"

"Right, but I think we should split up," suggested Raiden.

"I agree," said Snake. "Raiden, you go with Anya. Meryl, you'll come with me."

"Wait a minute," Raiden said quickly, "my codec frequency is 180.55, what about you all?"

"I'm 181.95," said Meryl.

"And I'm 180.01," Snake informed them.

"Don't worry, I've got nanos too," Anya said, "181.54."

"Okay," said Snake as he finished memorizing all the frequencies. "But we still have to get down from here."

"I'll handle that," said Raiden. He grabbed Meryl and suddenly leaped off the roof, with agility that Snake hadn't seen since Olga had masqueraded as the Cyborg Ninja. A second later he was back, Meryl gone. He did the same with Anya, and then returned for Snake.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Snake.

"Well, you wanted to get down..."

"Fine, but make it quick," said Snake as he grabbed onto Raiden.

"Hold on," Raiden cautioned, and then they were hurtling through the air, and Snake's stomach had shot into his throat. He had been in free fall during HALO jumps of course, but he had never entered it this fast before. And then the abrupt and instant stop at the end made Snake collapse to the ground, ready to puke. The others, who all seemed less affected than he, laughed at him. He growled in exasperation and got to his feet.

"How did you do that?" Snake asked. Raiden pointed to his Skull Suit.

"I had Otacon make some adjustments. He was able to integrate most of the technology in that Cyborg Ninja suit we found in Alaska into the Skull Suit."

"Clever," muttered Snake, looking around.

They were back in the area where he had fought The Rhino, the lava pools still there, although they looked considerably cooler. The destroyed wreckage of the Gustav was lying to their left, far away enough from the woods not to set them on fire, but it was cutting it close.

"Hang on," said Anya as she dug into her pockets. She pulled out two PAN cards, both of them level five. She handed one to Snake, and gave the other to Raiden. "You'll need the higher levels of clearance if we're going to get back to the lake. There's a PAN door down in the woods that leads to a small river. We can take a motor boat from there to the lake."

"I saw that door earlier," Snake remembered.

"Right," said Raiden. "But we'll still split up just in case. I'm sure we can find more than one way there. Anya and I will head father along the tree line, try and find another way into the woods."

"Me and Meryl will go in through this entrance here then," Snake said, motioning to the level one door in front of them.

"Right. See you all later."

Raiden and Anya went their own way, and Snake and Meryl walked over to the PAN door. It didn't slid open, and Snake wondered why. They had more than enough clearance.

"What's wrong?" asked Meryl.

"I'm not sure, I-" But then Snake remembered. "Liquid. He blasted the door's computer apart from the other side."

"Ocelot's still turning into Liquid?" asked Meryl, surprised.

"Yeah, forgot to mention that. Sorry."

"S'okay," she said, whacking the PAN door. It suddenly slid open and Meryl strutted through. Snake grumbled in annoyance, and followed her through.

End Note: Please R&R, and don't forget to R&R Philanthropy by Major Xero!


	13. Chapter 12: Attack on the River

Author's Note: I am back, after another brief hiatus. So, please enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to R&R Philanthropy by Major Xero!

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 12: Attack on the River

Snake and Meryl had found the door easily enough. There had been no more guards on the way to it, although the bodies of the men Snake had tranqed earlier were mysteriously absent. As Snake and Meryl approached the door, it slid open automatically as it was supposed to. They stepped through, finding themselves on a small wooden bridge crossing the stream. Snake crossed first, Meryl behind him.

His codec beeped as he reached the other side of the bridge.

"Hold on Meryl," he whispered, gesturing for her to hold still. He answered the call. It was Gunsmith.

"Hey Snake, what's up?" he asked.

"Hasn't Otacon told you?"

"Yeah, he said that you found Anya, and that you killed Dog and destroyed the Gustav."

"Well, right now I'm on my way to this river Anya mentioned. We can take a boat from there to this lake up North, where Ocelot is."

"Really? Hang on a sec, how many weapons do you have right now?"

"Just my SOCOM, I lost everything else when I fought Metal Gear."

"You need to get yourself some better equipment man. Luckily for you, Mei Ling took a few satellite photos of that area. The river and boat are just up ahead, and there's also a toolshed nearby. It's guarded by two men, but there's a few grenades in there, an M9, and a MAC-10 submachine gun."

"An SMG? I guess that could come in handy..."

"Did I mention there's quite a few boxes of ammo for your SOCOM too?"

"Now I'm interested."

"Good. Also, one more thing. We caught a picture of that boat you'll be taking on our photos."

"And?"

"It's a piece of shit. And the keys are missing. It's possible that one of those guards has it, but I wonder if you know how to hot-wire it."

"Um...no."

"Well, hope that the keys are there. Later."

Snake returned his finger to his SOCOM and pressed on. Meryl asked no questions about who had called, only followed. Soon, they came upon the river. It didn't look very deep, but it was wide enough across, a good thirty feet maybe. Right there bobbing in the water was the boat, and even from this distance Snake could tell that it _was_ a piece of crap. It was old and rusty, and parts of the aluminum plating looked as though they were about to fall off. And next to it, on the shore, was the tool shed. But Snake could only see one guard. The other one must have been inside the shed.

"Meryl," Snake whispered. "Do you have any non-lethal weapons?"

"No, just this," she said, lifting her Desert Eagle. Snake cursed mentally. He really didn't want to kill anymore of these men. They were just doing their jobs, probably thought they were upholding the American Dream or something. But if he had to kill them, he would. He lifted the SOCOM, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The silenced bullet buried itself in the guard's head, and he crumpled instantly.

Snake quietly ran up to the shed, motioning for Meryl to go check out the boat. As she did, Snake kicked open the door of the shed. The guard was sitting in a chair, his rifle lying nearby on a table.

"Don't try it," Snake warned, training his SOCOM on the man's nose. The guard started to raise his hands, but then reached for the rifle. Before he even touched it, Snake ended his life with a shot to the heart. Snake then looked around. The tiny room was devoid of anything worth mention besides a small shelf that held two boxes full of SOCOM clips, a box of .50 rounds, a box full of grenades, and theM9 and MAC that Gunsmith had mentioned. Snake picked them up and, making sure they were loaded, slid them into his belt. There were also a few clips for the MAC, which he took as well. As for the SOCOM clips, he only took four, knowing he couldn't carry all of them. He also grabbed two clips for Meryl's Eagle, and three grenades. Before leaving the shed, he looked down and saw a key dangling out of the dead man's pocket. He took it and left.

He found Meryl edging into the boat, as though it was going to sink any moment, which, Snake thought, it might just have. When she was finally in, Snake tossed the keys and the .45 clips to her, before climbing in himself. He then looked back at where they had come from.

"Where's Raiden and Anya?" Meryl asked, reflecting his thoughts.

"I don't know," Snake replied. As if on cue, Raiden came bursting down the path, Anya close behind, firing her Eagles behind her.

"What happened?" Snake asked as they jumped in the boat. It rocked unsteadily, and Snake wondered if it could take the weight.

"Don't ask now, just get us out of here!" Raiden shouted. He then turned around and fired a handgun at one of the guards on the bank, who fell dead into the water. Snake lent a few bullets to the cause, as Meryl turned on the engine and pulled down the lever. The boat shot forward, causing Snake to nearly fall to the ground. Getting back to he feet, he saw that they had turned a bend in the river, and the guards were long gone.

"That was close," Anya said as she put away her guns. Snake sat down on one of the cushioned seats on the boat, and looked up ahead. The river was straight here, and looked quite long. It would take a bit to reach the lake at this rate.

There was a shout, and a bullet hole appeared in the sear near Snake. He jerked in surprise and looked back. Close behind them were two other speedboats carrying quite a few men in each. Snake cursed and fired two SOCOM bullets, before dropping to the floor to hide from the return gunfire. He saw Anya firing at them with her Eagles, while Raiden tried his best to defend them both with his blade. Snake looked around quickly, searching for something useful. And, as though lady luck had smiled upon him, there was something lying under the seat. It was a belt-fed heavy machine gun. Snake couldn't help but grin when he saw it.

He pulled it out from under the seat and propped it up with the collapsible tripod under it. He made sure the belt was lined up right, and then opened fire. The heavy rounds ripped out from the gun with deafening blasts of thunder as the ejected casings shot into the water. Snake focused his aim on the nearest boat, trying to wipe out all of the men on board. He had to duck to avoid their fire, but quickly got back up and pressed the attack. Finally, he must have struck the engine, because the boat burst into flames and flipped over, out of sight.

The second boat had gotten much closer now, and Snake could no longer risk firing the machine gun. He fell to the floor again and pulled out one of the grenades he had gotten from the shed. Pulling the pin, he tossed it over the edge of the boat. He heard and felt the explosion, and then took a quick peek. The grenade had landed in the water and exploded under the boat, because a geyser of water erupted from the depths as the boat spun out of control. Splintered wood and metal flew everywhere as the boat disappeared beneath the surface.

The threat was over. Snake took a deep breath of air and coughed a few times.

"Wish I had a smoke," he said off-handedly. At that, Raiden reached behind his back and pulled out a godsend.

"My favorite brand?" Snake asked as he reached into the pack and drew out a cigarette.

"Yeah, a guard I killed awhile back had them on him. Figured you'd want 'em."

"You come in handy from time to time," Snake joked. "You got a light?" Raiden shook his head, but then Meryl produced one from her pocket. As he took it and lit up, Snake said, "I'm starting to be grateful that you two showed up."

But just as he took the first drag, the cigarette fell from his grip. Snake cursed and looked around. It had disappeared.

"Must have fallen into the water," he muttered, and lit up another smoke.

-----------

Unbeknownst to Snake, the cigarette had not actually fallen into the water. In fact, it hadn't fallen at all. It had been pulled through the air by an invisible force, and was now being held by The Dragon, who was standing on a cliff above the trees, watching the boat speed off down the river. He eyed the cigarette for a second, and then it burst into flame. The Dragon tossed it off the cliff and extinguished it. He reached up and activated his codec.

"Snake and the others are on their way," he said.

"Are they now?" replied Ocelot on the other end.

"Yes. And the girl's with them. She must have found out about you."

"The girl knows? Well, that changes nothing. Just make sure your men don't kill her. She's vital to Dead Heaven."

"I'll let them know. How are things going on your end?"

"Well enough. That data you retrieved from Zidel was as accurate as promised."

"I told you, as long as the Patriots want what you want, we do too."

"Good. And finally, one of my men reported seeing something strange in the woods. He mentioned something along the lines of 'not human' before the transmission was cut. One of yours?"

The Dragon looked out over the treetops and saw a particular patch of forest that looked quite out of place for Autumn. The trees there had all had their leaves frozen over, and the branches were covered in snow. The whole forest there was a winter wonderland. The Dragon rubbed his chest, thinking about the ice-blue scar there.

"No," he responded. "He's not one of mine."

"Well do something about it, will you?"

"You can count on it."

"Good. Report back when something happens."

As The Dragon cut the transmission, he turned around and disappeared into the trees.

"Deonorth," he whispered menacingly.

End Note: As always, R&R. And if you're confused, please read Philanthropy by Major Xero.


	14. Chapter 13: Dusk

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 13: Dusk

It took about five minutes, shorter than Snake had expected, but the lake was in sight, far off in the distance. From here it would only be about another minute. The sky had begun to darken as the sun sank beneath the trees. It was almost dusk.

The codec beeped. Snake groaned, through his cigarette overboard, and took the call.

"Snake, listen to me, this is important." It was Otacon.

"What is it?" Snake asked.

"I just got a codec call. It was from some mystery person calling himself Loki."

"Loki?"

"Something from Norse mythology, I think. I'm not very big on that stuff. Anyways, this guy was saying that the lake up ahead is booby trapped."

"Trapped? How?"

"Snake, it's full of sharks."

"Sharks?"

"Yeah, that's what he said. All of them known man-eaters, including tiger sharks and great whites."

Snake thought for a moment. He had done a little research on ichthyology back in FOX-HOUND, and from what he remembered, most sharks couldn't survive in freshwater.

"Otacon, is that a saltwater lake?"

"No, I don't think so..."

"So how are all these sharks there, if this Loki person is telling the truth?"

"It's _him_," Gunsmith answered as he entered the transmission.

"Who?" Snake asked.

"The Shark. He's just up ahead."

"A member of The Fallen?"

"Yeah. I suppose you want to know everything about him?"

"Uh, well, yeah..."

"Well," started Gunsmith, and Snake could hear him drawing in a huge breath from the other end, "The Shark was born in Sarasota, Florida, about thirty five years ago. From an early age he would be brought to the beach every day by his immensely rich parents. As a child he would simply make sand castles and the like, but as he grew he took a fancy to surfing. Then, when he was fifteen, he was attacked by a tiger shark while surfing. The Shark never actually hurt him, just destroyed his board. But from that point on he became obsessed with sharks. He graduated from the University of Tampa with degrees in Marine Biology and Ichthyology. Then, using money given to him by his parents, he bought himself a private island near the Equator where he would live for the next ten years.

"While living in his own personal paradise, he studied the vast schools of sharks that populated the nearby reefs. His intentions started out well enough. He wanted to develop a kind of shark repellent to protect humans. But one day, when he was out diving in the reefs, he stayed underwater too long, and the current drifted him away from his boat. He was lost, marooned in the middle of the ocean for three days, with only an emergency life jacket to keep him afloat. As you can imagine, this was bad enough. But then the sharks came.

"He was surrounded by a school of hammerheads that circled him constantly the whole time. A few times the sharks even bit him. Miraculously, he survived, when on the third day a passing yacht spotted him and pulled him aboard.

"He returned to the island, but the horrors of his time in the ocean and the years in living in isolation from the rest of the world had taken it's toll on his sanity. He went back to his old project, the shark repellent, and instead reworked it into a chemical substance that attracts sharks. He soon found that he could use this to control the sharks, and with them he would play demented games. I'm sure you remember the bizarre summer of 2008, when ten people were killed by sharks on the Florida coast."

"I remember hearing about that," Snake replied.

"Yeah, that was him. But controlling the sharks wasn't enough. He had to become them."

"How did he do that?"

"He-"

Gunsmith didn't get the finish. Snake had been so distracted by the conversation that he hadn't warned Meryl about the lake. They had boated right into it, and before they knew what had happened, the sharks attacked. Snake had seen the triangular fin right before the conical snout of a great white shark pierced the glassy surface of the water. It slammed it's head into the side of the boat, causing it to rock back and forth. Snake cut the call and raised his SOCOM. He knew it would be useless, though. There had to been ten different species of shark circling the boat. Dozens of fins slicing the water. Their beady black eyes hungrily staring upwards.

The smell came next. The air there stank like blood. Snake covered his mouth and looked around, but the water wasn't red anywhere...

A column of water exploded upwards, the resulting waves shaking the boat once more. Looking up, Snake saw an object fall out of the pillar and land on the front of the boat, right in front of Meryl. She leaped out of her seat and drew her Eagle, and Snake was suddenly aware of how little room there was left on the boat. But he was even more aware of the hunched figure now staring at him.

It was a small, wiry man in a blue wetsuit. The suit was covered in countless small scale-like objects that looked razor sharp. In the man's right hand was a harpoon gun, and a long blade extended from his left wrist. Strapped to his back was what looked like a futuristic scuba tank.

"Sorry about the smell," the man said. He had a low, dry voice.

Snake wasn't going to waste time. He pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight at the man's head. Nothing happened. Snake doubled checked, and saw that the man had actually _caught_ the bullet between his teeth! And, Snake saw, the teeth were sharpened to points and serrated. The man had a shark smile. Literally.

He spit the bullet out and grinned, showing way too many teeth for a human.

"Now why did you go and do that? That was rude. Oh well, I can't expect you ignorant humans to understand that sharks aren't all that bad."

**_Predatory Soldier- The Shark (Michael Madsen)_**

The Shark looked up at something in the sky. Snake looked up too. In the distance was what looked like a helicopter, and it was headed for the lake.

"Well, Ocelot has decided to watch this one for himself." The Shark laughed and looked back down at the sharks in the water. "You humans are the monsters, not us. We kill to survive. You kill because you are afraid and stupid. You can never understand. We are the ultimate hunting machines. Apex predators. Perfection."

The helicopter was getting closer. Soon, it was right above them. The rotations of the chopper blades made ripples in the water, but did nothing to scare the sharks off. Snake saw something drop out of the chopper. It was coming right for them!

Snake fired two bullets, but neither connected. The object was a blur, moving so fast that it barely made noise. It moved behind Snake, who whirled to see where it had gone. He had only a split second to see Meryl and Anya covered by the blur, and then all three were gone. Snake looked up again and saw the blue return to the chopper.

"What the hell?" Snake exclaimed.

"Heh heh," The Shark chuckled, "he likes to play games like that."

Before Snake could ask who he was, the blur returned, and this time it came for Snake. It slammed into him, and Snake found himself weightless, being hurled through the air. He flipped over a few times before hitting solid ground. Groaning and getting to his feet, he looked around. He was on the shore of the lake. Raiden was still on the boat, and from the looks of things, he had begun to do battle with The Shark.

The blur returned, landing right in front of Snake. Snake raised the SOCOM, but hesitated. The man now standing in front of him was tall, wearing a black coat that seemed longer than normal. His arms were also long, and he had short black hair that topped his round head. His face was pale and sunken, and his eyes were not visible. He had wrapped a white cloth around his head that covered them up, the cloth stained with blood. He hissed. His eyeteeth were sharpened.

"So, Snake, we meet at last!" His voice was high pitched and almost comically squeaky. The voice only confirmed what Snake suspected.

"The Bat?" he asked.

"The very same," the man replied.

**_Shadow Soldier- The Bat (Michael Bell)_**

"What did you do with Meryl and Anya?" Snake demanded.

"Them? They're fine. They're watching the show with Shalashaska up above, safe as can be. They can't get in the way for our fight."

TheBat tensed up and crouched. Snake knew he was blind by looking at him, but he knew that couldn't have been much of an obstacle if he was one of The Fallen. And Gunsmith knew nothing about him...

The Bat disappeared, blurring off to the right. Snake followed, ready to fight. He didn't know what he was up against, but he hoped it wouldn't take long to find out.

End Note: Yeah, I've had Michael Bell do two voices, so sue me. Also, Michael Madsen did Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs and Budd in Kill Bill, just for reference. So, please R&R!


	15. Chapter 14: The Bat

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 14: The Bat

The Bat had disappeared. Snake's eyes darted around, but the Fallen member was nowhere in sight.

"Looking for me?" the high voice asked. Snake whirled just in time to be drop-kicked in the face by The Bat. He fell to the ground, his SOCOM sliding away from him. The Bat pinned the gun under his foot. Snake noticed for the first time that The Bat was barefoot.

"What the hell..." Snake muttered. How had he gotten the drop on Snake so easily?

"Hee hee hee, you're a funny man, Snake!" He lifted his arms up for theatrical flair. "You chose a very poor time to come after us! Don't you know that bats always come out at dusk?"

Snake got to his feet. He reached into his belt and whipped out the MAC. Opening fire, Snake rolled behind a nearby boulder on the shore. When he looked back out, The Bat was gone. Carefully, Snake ran out from behind the boulder and retrieved his SOCOM. Switching back to the pistol, he looked around once more for The Bat.

"Heh heh..."

This time, upon hearing the laughter, Snake ducked. The Bat went sailing over him, missing his scalp by inches. Spinning in midair, The Bat landed perfectly on his feet.

"Very good Snake. You aren't completely foolish. Most warriors I meet only know how to use their eyes and nothing else. Of course, as you can see..." He gestured to the bloody cloth over his eye sockets. "...I don't have to use them at all. It's quite liberating actually, to not have to see at all. You can focus on more important things that way..."

Snake fired the SOCOM. But The Bat leaped over the shot, turning into a blur once more. He landed behind Snake and a blinding pain struck Snake's lower back. He spun around and staggered, trying to stay on his feet. He felt warm blood running down his back.

"Didn't see these, did ya?" The Bat said, waving his fingers lazily in the air. Snake now saw that his fingernails had been sharpened to points, like his teeth. They had been able to penetrate his sneaking suit and cut his back.

"Nice manicure," Snake grunted. This seemed to have no effect on The Bat.

"Say what you will. Now then, shall we continue?" He blurred off to the left. Once again, Snake lost all track of him. He was sure that The Bat would not use his stealth drop kick move again, now that he could avoid it. Snake decided to see what he would try next. He just hoped it wouldn't be fatal.

The Bat's crazy laughter came from the direction of the lake. Snake looked in that direction, but all he saw was Raiden back out on the boat. The Shark was swimming around in the water now, firing spears up at his adversary. Raiden appeared to have acquired a pump action shotgun of some kind, and was firing it off into the water with little success, although there were a few dark stains in the water, perhaps indicating dead sharks.

"Not a good idea to take your mind off the matter at hand," The Bat advised. Snake looked to his right and saw him standing in the shallows of the water, the gentle waves slapping against his legs. Snake fired the rest of the SOCOM clip, but The Bat had disappeared once more.

"How is he doing this?" Snake wondered aloud.

Snake forgot about The Bat momentarily however. An entire group of soldiers had suddenly burst forth from the trees, rifles aimed at Snake.

"Drop your gun!" the man in front commanded. Snake groaned and prepared to do just that. But then The Bat fell out of the air and landed in front of the soldiers.

"At ease, men, he's mine," The Bat ordered.

"Negative," the soldier argued. "Commander Ocelot wants us to take him in alive."

"Did he know? He knows how much I hate being denied my kill."

"Regardless, he is to be captured. Now either do that or step aside."

The Bat looked up at the helicopter above for a second. He muttered something under his breath, something that, to Snake, looked like, "Not this time Ocelot." Suddenly, The Bat was a blur again, turning on Ocelot's men!

Snake just stood there observing as the carnage unfolded. The soldiers opened fire on The Bat, but he effortlessly dodged every bullet. Necks were snapped, throats were sliced open, backs were broken. Snake even saw The Bat leap into the air above a man, and twist his head around on his shoulders with his bare feet!

When it was over, no less than ten dead soldiers lay on the ground, blood pooling around many of the bodies. The Bat looked around at the death he had inflicted.

"Stupid bastards. You'd think after I slew a dozen of 'em, they would have figured out that it's a bad idea to piss me off."

Snake was frozen stiff, not in fear, but in fascination. He suddenly heard a voice echoing in his head.

_There's a killer inside you. You don't have to deny it..._

"Liquid," Snake muttered angrily. He shook his head, trying to force his brother's words from nine years ago out of his head.

"What's wrong Snake? You scared?"

Snake reloaded his SOCOM and then put it away, switching to the MAC.

"No," he said, and then opened fire. The Bat laughed again before blurring backwards. He landed on the neck of a dead guard, and suddenly, the corpse got to it's feet! Snake released the trigger, too surprised to continue the attack. Was he just having trouble seeing in the dark? No, the dead man was definitely standing up, somewhat limply, and The Bat was standing on his shoulders, grinning from ear to ear.

"Now this right here is the ability I'm the most proud of," he boasted. "Do you have any idea how complex the human nervous system is? I'm sure you don't. But when you've studied it as long as I have, you realize that it's potential can extend beyond the life of the body in question. See here, this guy hasn't outlived his usefulness. His life maybe, but certainly not his usefulness. All I have to do is twist here..."

The Bat pinched a clump of skin on the body's neck between his big toe and his second, and the man raised his right hand. The one holding the rifle. Snake ducked behind the boulder just as the corpse opened fire. As the bullets pinged off the rock, Snake tried to think about this was possible. Of course, he had seen many strange people in his life...

The hail of gunfire ceased, and Snake stood up and returned fire. The bullets tore into the corpse, and The Bat abandoned it, leaping away and onto another body. As the old one fell limp, the new one rose to take it's place. The MAC was empty. Snake hid behind the boulder once more to reload.

"When a body dies," The Bat continued, "it still carries a small electric charge. This dies out eventually, but until then I can harness the power for myself. You got lucky this time. I broke most of these guy's necks. They're useless."

And he opened fire. Snake waited until the clip expired and then rolled out from cover. He unloaded the entire MAC at The Bat, who leapt off the body and through the air. He was a blur again, and Snake had no idea what had hit him. Suddenly, he felt a terrible, cramping pain in his neck, and an immense weight on his shoulders. He couldn't move. The Bat was on him. The Bat was in control.

"And now Snake, you see why I'm so deadly. If I wanted to, I could make you blow your brain out of your skull right now." As if to demonstrate that this was in his power, he twisted. With the fresh surge of pain, Snake's right arm shot up and pointed the MAC at his left eyeball. He couldn't deter his aim at all. He was at The Bat's mercy.

"Do you wish to die Snake?" The Bat asked. Snake did not reply. He wouldn't give The Bat the satisfaction of knowing that he had won.

"The silent treatment eh? Oh well, I know what the answer is. It's really a pointless question anyway. However, you will not die tonight."

And Snake felt the pain and the pressure disappear. He fell limp to the ground, coughing horribly. His limbs felt miles away, tingling with the aftereffects of being under The Bat's control.

After a minute, he looked up at The Bat. The Fallen member was looking out over the lake. Snake followed his gaze and saw that the battle between Raiden and The Shark was over. The Shark was gone, though to where Snake wasn't sure. Raiden was sitting down, breathing heavily. The sharks in the water also appeared to have disbanded.

"W-why?" Snaked asked.

"Because Snake, I must talk to you before you die. But not here. I have questions that I cannot allow Ocelot to hear, and I have things to show you that he mustn't see. The Dragon trusts him, but I do not."

And with that, The Bat leapt into the air, blurring up into the helicopter far above them. The chopper pivoted and flew off towards the tall mountain nearby. Snake shakily got to his feet and put away the MAC. Drawing the SOCOM, he looked up at the mountain. That was where Ocelot was. He had Anya and Meryl with him. And although it seemed pointless, he felt that he had to find out what The Bat had to say.

End Note: Please R&R...


	16. Chapter 15: New Technology

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 15: New Technology

Snake waited for Raiden to maneuver the boat up to the shore and step out before starting towards the mountain. From where he was he didn't see any direct way in, but he was sure Mei Ling would come up with something. Raiden followed behind him as he tried to come up with a plan of action.

"Snake, hold up!" Raiden shouted. Snake did not stop. Raiden continued regardless.

"Who was that guy who you fought? And what happened to Meryl and Anya?"

"That was The Bat, and he took Meryl and Anya to Ocelot. They're up in that mountain now, and we have to find them." Snake replied without stopping.

"How are we going to get in there?" Raiden asked.

"That's what I'm about to find out." Snake contacted Otacon on the codec.

"Otacon, it's Snake, I need some help."

"What is it Snake?" Otacon replied.

"I need to you to ask Mei Ling to take some photos of the mountain and discover the best way in."

"Well, okay, but why don't you just tell her yourself?"

"Because I need to ask you something. It's about that Loki guy who called earlier."

"What about him?"

"I need you to do some quick research on Norse mythology. Get all the info on Loki you can and tell me. If there's one thing I know about these mystery callers, they tend to leave clues in their aliases."

"Right. I'll get on it Snake."

"Thanks."

As the transmission ended, Snake and Raiden came to the base of the mountain. It was far too wide to simply circumvent and search for a way up, so he would have to wait for Mei Ling's photos. In the meantime, however, he got out his binoculars and surveyed the mountain. From what he could see, it was a pretty desolate formation. There were few trees or any kind of vegetation at all, only rocks and perilous ledges. However, there was one point of interest. There was a building situated between two crags of rock near the peak of the mountain.

Snake zoomed in more, and he saw what looked like the helicopter from earlier on the roof. The blades were still spinning, so it must have landed just then. Snake zoomed in as far as he could, and that's when he saw Ocelot step out of the chopper. He looked furious, probably at the The Bat and The Shark's failure. The Dragon and The Bat followed him from the chopper, and Anya and Meryl came out after them, handcuffed and being led by guards. Ocelot was saying something.

"Dammit, I need a directional microphone..." Snake muttered. That was when Raiden tapped him on the shoulder.

"Uh, Snake?" Raiden said.

"What is it?" Snake replied, not really listening.

"I have a directional microphone."

"What?" Snake said, lowering the binoculars. "Where?"

"Right here." Raiden grabbed a pair of advanced looking binoculars off his belt and handed them to Snake.

"What's this?" Snake asked.

"They're a new model of binoculars that Otacon gave me. They have a directional mic built in, and it's got better zoom."

Snake shook his head as he put the tiny earpiece dangling from the binocs in his ear.

_Why do the young ones always get the new technology?_ he thought. He fitted the binocs over his eyes and zoomed back in. It was true, they did have much better zoom, and as soon as he was zoomed back in, he heard the sounds of voices coming from the directional mic. They were very faint, but he could make them out.

"What kind of mercenary are you?" Ocelot shouted. He was reprimanding The Bat, who didn't seemed to be too bothered by his employer's displeasure.

"A pretty good one, I guess," The Bat sarcastically replied.

"You aren't worth anything!" Ocelot roared. "I specifically ordered that you kill him! And not only did you let him go, you actually killed more of my men!"

Ocelot turned his attention to The Dragon.

"And you told me that he was under control! You promised he would follow orders!"

"Ocelot, you of all people should realize the gravity of this situation. The Patriots may be indebted to you, and we may be in your employment, but the Patriot's orders come before yours. I received notification that Snake was not to be killed or captured yet. Bat had to kill your men so Snake wouldn't be captured."

Ocelot stood for a few moments, looking quite dumbfounded. Then, he replied, almost inaudibly, "For what possible reason could the Patriots want that man alive? All he will do is ruin everything we've been planning!"

"I'm am merely a messenger Shalashaska. It is not my business to know the Patriot's reasoning. I must only do what they tell me. Therefore, I want you to either withdraw your men from the caves, or else reequip them with nonlethal weapons and orders to not eliminate Snake."

"Are you serious! I can't do that! We are far to close to-"

"May I remind you Ocelot," The Dragon said, now visibly irked, "that the only reason the Patriots have even bothered to fund this little operation of yours is because it suits their needs. Rather, their conveniences. If you were to become uncooperative, they would surely pull the plug on the whole thing, and probably order us to kill you. Now, you must be sane enough to realize that much!"

"I'm warning you Dragon," Ocelot said, waving a finger at the leader of The Fallen, "I'll go along with this like the Patriots want. But if you try to kill me, well, I have a certain leverage against you that will make you think twice."

"What are you talking about?" The Dragon demanded.

"Heh heh, trust me, you'd hate me if you knew."

And with that, Ocelot signaled for the girls to be taken away. He followed after them into the building, and The Dragon turned to The Bat.

"Nicholas, I want you to do some digging around. Find out if Ocelot is bluffing or not. And if he isn't, find out what this leverage is and remove it. Nothing can go wrong at this stage in the plan."

"Right. Farewell, Raoul."

The Bat then blurred out of sight, and The Dragon entered the building.

_Nicholas? Raoul? _Snake thought as he lowered the binocs and handed them back to Raiden. _The Dragon and The Bat are on first name terms? When talking to the other members of The Fallen they seem just business._

"So what's going up there?" Raiden asked, breaking Snake out of his reverie.

"It looks like Ocelot's agenda is different from the Patriots' and The Fallen's."

"That's Ocelot for you. Does this make him a quadruple-crosser? Quintuple? What?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure even if he's even going behind their backs. But something about this doesn't smell right."

"That could be the dead fish, you know..."

"Funny."

And Snake did let out a little chuckled. He didn't get much chance to laugh these days.

The codec beeped, and Snake answered it. It was Mei Ling.

"Mei Ling, did you get those photos?"

"Yeah Snake. According to the pictures we took, there are two possible ways up the mountain. One is an intricate cave system that leads up from inside, and there's also an external trail leading up the mountainside."

"Two ways, huh?"

"I say we split up again," Raiden suggested, who was listening in on his codec.

"Fine. I'll take the caves, you can take the mountain trail. Where are they Mei Ling?"

"The entrance to the caves is just a little ways to your right, and the path is a little ways to your left. They should be in plain sight."

"Okay. Thanks Mei Ling."

He ended the call and then turned to Raiden.

"You gonna' be fine on your own?" he asked. Raiden winked.

"Hey, look who you're talking to."

"That doesn't reassure me."

Raiden suddenly became serious again, and nodded.

"Whatever, see ya later kid."

"Bye Snake.

Then the two operatives split up, heading in different directions along the mountainside.

End Note: I wanted to get this up because people have been demanding more, and also because I want everyone to know that the story isn't dead, and will not die. I just have school right now, and it sucks ass. Anyways, R&R!


	17. Chapter 16: Inevitability

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 16: Inevitability

It took about twenty seconds before Snake saw the entrance to the caves. It was a small opening in the wall of rock, a little larger than a doorway. Parallel to the opening of the cave was a row of wooden crates, labeled with shipping numbers. Snake also saw two guards patrolling the entrance to the cave. He quickly rolled behind a crate and pulled out his outdated binocs. Peeking out around the crate, he observed the soldiers.

They were carrying silenced AK-74s, which meant that either Ocelot had been lying to The Dragon, or they hadn't received the order to switch to nonlethal weapons yet. Snake drew out his M9 and aimed it at the head of the nearest soldier. He pulled the trigger and dropped the man to the earth. However, the other guard must have heard the first collapsing, because he tensed up and spun around. Snake quickly hid again, and softly tapped against the crate. The small sound got the guard's attention, and when he came over to investigate, Snake jumped up and slammed the man to the ground, planting a sleeping dart in his neck.

Snake took a deep breath, and suddenly found that he was very tired. He collapsed on one of the crates and heaved in gulps of air. Why was he so exhausted all of a sudden? He quickly checked himself over to see if he been hit with a sleep dart of some kind, but there were none.

"What's wrong with me?" he thought aloud. Sure, he was getting older, but he still had much of his youthful stamina intact.

Before he could wonder about his situation anymore, he noticed a tiny tingling sensation in his lower-left back. Snake reached around and rubbed himself, but the tingling did not go away. Somewhat worried now, Snake stood up and started to walk around, hoping it would help. But the tingling started to travel up his back. Then, when it reached his shoulder blade, it disappeared. Snake sighed in relief.

And then crashed to the ground as the pain hit. It felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart with a knife and was twisting. He screamed in agony and massaged his chest, but it did not help. He was writhing on the ground, grunting and trying his best to fight it off.

"What-what's happening?" he growled. He was vaguely aware that his limbs were becoming numb, and felt far away. The corners of his vision were beginning to blur, and his head felt like it was going to explode. Just when Snake felt as if he could take no more, the pain was gone. His arms returned to him, and his headache diminished, although he was still having trouble seeing. Slowly, he inched his way over to the nearest crate and rested against it, trying to figure out what had just happened. He suddenly remembered an event from nine years ago, crystal clear in his mind.

_SNAKE!_

_Wha..._

_FOX..._

_...DIE..._

_If he's dead, then..._

_Don't say it Snake..._

_Naomi, when is my time up?..._

That last sentence repeated itself in Snake's head over and over. He took a calming breath and tried to come to grips. It had taken nine years, but it had caught up with him.

"FOXDIE..." he muttered grimly.

----------

He sat there for forever it seemed. The deadly virus which Naomi Hunter had injected into him nine years ago was finally starting to take affect. Miraculously, he had somehow survived the heart attack the virus had caused. Perhaps all the years of living with it in him had given him some sort of natural resistance. But it seemed to be wearing off now. It was only a matter of time...

His codec beeped. He didn't answer it at first. The knowledge that his time was running out had shaken something loose inside him. All these years of doing what he did, rushing into situations that could have killed him, not once worrying about his own life, even when it looked like there was no hope left, he still had never actually feared his own death. But now...now that it was sure and inevitable, he couldn't help but feel frightened.

Finally, he answered the codec.

"Snake, it's Otacon.," the hacker greeted.

"Oh, hey," Snake responded unenthusiastically.

"I did some research on Loki. Apparently he was the Norse God of Mischief. He was a trickster, always playing pranks on people, sometimes deadly ones. He caused the death of another God named Baldur, the God of Tears, and was bound by the other Gods until Ragnarok, the Norse Apocalypse, at which time he will be freed."

"Apocalypse, huh?" Snake mumbled.

"Are you okay Snake?" asked Otacon, sounding worried. "You sound depressed."

"Uh, it's nothing," Snake replied, trying to sound more normal.

"Are you sure?"

"I...Otacon...I think...I think FOXDIE has started to take affect."

There was a brief pause, and Snake though the heard Otacon cough.

"Are you serious?" Otacon asked quietly.

"Yeah...I think I just had a heart attack or something. I think it's FOXDIE..."

"Snake...are you sure? It wasn't just gas or cramps or-"

"Trust me Hal," Snake said, using his friend's real name, "it was FOXDIE."

"Oh my God..."

There was another long silence, and finally, Snake spoke.

"Hal, where's Naomi?"

"What? Naomi?" Otacon said, sounding far away.

"Naomi Hunter. She helped create FOXDIE. She was the one who set it go off randomly. She might be able to help me."

"Snake, she's gone into hiding since Shadow Moses. Even if we could find her..."

"Back at Shadow Moses, Liquid mentioned a vaccine for FOXDIE. He sounded like he was only assuming it's existence, but it makes sense to me. The Patriots wouldn't have been stupid enough to create their own bio weapon without some way to defeat it. Naomi might be able to get me a cure."

"I...I'll get Mei Ling on it..."

"Thanks Hal..."

Snake stood up and took another breath. Looking at the crate, he drew back his fist and punched a hole through it. Breaking off the top, he rummaged around inside and found an AK-74SU with a suppresser already equipped. There were also five clips for it. He loaded it and strapped it around his shoulder.

"Snake, what are you going to do?" Otacon asked quietly.

"I'm going after Ocelot. If this stupid virus is going to kill me, I might as well finish things first."

"Okay Snake. If you need to talk to anyone, Mei Ling and me are right here."

"Thanks Hal. See ya later."

Snake shut off the codec. With the his finger on the trigger of the AK, Snake looked up at the base on top of the mountain.

_I'm coming for you Ocelot. And you too, Liquid._

Gripping the rifle, he ran into the cave.

End Note: Oh noes! Yeah, we got nowhere this chapter either, except of course the revelation that FOXDIE is back! What will Snake do? That's what I'm trying to figure out, although I already have a pretty good idea. Anyways, please R&R as always...


	18. Chapter 17: The Caves

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 17: The Caves

As Snake smashed the butt of the AK into the guard's neck, sending the man unconscious to the damp cave floor, he wondered for the hundredth time just how close he was to the top. He had been wandering the maze of cold, wet passages forever it seemed. He had knocked countless guards unconscious, or else shot them. And he was hungry.

Luckily, he had found a crate full of military rations in one of the myriad tunnels of the labyrinth, and he had taken a few along with him. Here, he decided, was a good place to take a short break and chow down.

Using the knife Otacon had supplied him, he pried off the lid of the can and reached in to retrieve his meal. He hated these things, especially since, more often than not, he had to eat them raw, but it was as good as he was going to get. True, he could have hunted down one of the few rabbits or small animals he had seen passing by in the woods and killed it for a temporary meal, but he had no time for that.

Eating his pitiful dinner, Snake held up the blade that the hacker had equipped him with and thought about how rarely he had used it. True, he hated using blades, but it could come in handy. Maybe he could try using some of that CQC technique he had learned back in FOXHOUND. He had never been a very big fan of it, although he had heard rumors that Big Boss himself had helped develop it. He preferred the basics: whack a guy unconscious, move onto the next guard, repeat.

He supposed the knife would do if he ran out of ammo for every gun he had left, but he wouldn't let it come to that. He was too good. More than likely, he would return to Otacon after the mission was over, hand him the knife, and say "Don't ever give me one of these again."

The sound of footsteps echoed off the cavernous walls. Snake quickly scarfed down the rest of the ration and raised the AK, ready to fire at whoever rounded the corner. However, when he realized that whoever it was was speaking, he lowered the rifle and ducked behind an outcropping of rock to eavesdrop.

The person, Snake could now see, was a lowly soldier. However, what was interesting was that he was equipped with a new rifle. Snake grabbed his night vision binocs and observed the gun. He couldn't figure out the exact model, but he knew enough to guess it was a tranquilizer rifle. Ocelot must have finally gotten around to rearming them. Well, good for Snake.It would be easier to fight off tranq induced drowsiness than a gunshot.

"Yes, he's down here somewhere," the guard said into his radio. "I found some of the others lying unconscious, and Richards had a bullet in his head." It was so quiet in the cave that Snake could barely hear the voice on the other end of the radio, although he couldn't identify it.

"Well then, I'll be down there. I can deal with him myself. Tell your men to pull out of the caves. Make sure he finds me."

"Where will you be?"

"The reservoir. It won't take me long to get there."

"Fine sir. But Ocelot won't like this."

"Forget Ocelot. You are Patriot soldiers. Our authority is greater than his, even if he doesn't realize it. Now get out of there now."

"Yes sir, good luck Bat."

The guard deactivated his radio and disappeared. Snake came out from hiding and stealthily tailed the guard, thinking about what he had just heard. It had been The Bat on the other end of the radio, and it sounded like he wanted to lure Snake into a trap. Or maybe he had just been saying that his men. The Bat _had_ said he wanted to talk to Snake in private. This would probably be the only chance the Fallen member would get. Snake's soldier instincts were against it, but his gut was telling him to head to the reservoir.

After a minute or so of following the guard, they came to an intersection. The guards had set up makeshift signs on the cave walls here to follow. The left path was not labeled, but the right path was labeled "Reservoir". The guard disappeared down the left passage, and Snake broke off down the right.

He traveled for not half a minute when he came upon a level 5 PAN door. Stepping beyond it he entered what could only be the reservoir. It was a giant underground lake, numerous stalagmites protruding up from the ground and from within the lake. The cavern ceiling, a good fifty feet above him, was nothing but a sky of stalactites, glittering with minerals. It was like a mock night sky.

The natural beauty was not without it's artificial enhancements. Metal railings had been set up along the shore, although sections of it were missing and what was left looked very rusty. There was also an upper level, a metal catwalk that circumvented the entire lake. A large pump was visible in one corner of the lake, and it seemed to venting water out of the lake, and replacing it just as quickly. Finally, Snake noticed a level 6 PAN door to his right, the only other exit from the reservoir. It was a dead end.

Snake heard an electronic beep behind him, and turned to see the PAN door slide shut. He approached it, but it did not open. He had the right level of clearance, what was wrong?

"Hee hee hee hee hee..."

Snake recognized that laughter. He tried to find the source of it, but it echoed off the walls and made discerning it's point of origin impossible.

"Come out, Bat!" Snake yelled into the darkness.

"Hello Snake, how are you?" The Bat replied, falling out of the cluster of spikes above and perching, perfectly, on one of the rocky spires protruding from the lake.

Snake aimed the AK at The Bat, but the Fallen mercenary just laughed.

"Snake, don't you remember? I need to talk to you. Put the gun away."

Snake did not deter his aim. "What did you want to say? You don't have that much time before I get bored and open fire on your ass."

The Bat sighed and leaped through the air, landing on the metal catwalk above Snake. Snake shifted his aim accordingly.

"To business, is it? Very well, I understand how short you are on time. You have damsels in distress to rescue, as I understand it."

"Where are Meryl and Anya?" Snake demanded.

"They're still safe. Ocelot has locked them up in the detention center beneath the base. They're about a hundred feet above us as we speak. But I have more important things to speak of."

"Shut up. You'll answer my questions first buddy."

"Fair enough," The Bat said, cracking his neck, "your questions most likely pertain to my information anyways."

"First of all, bat boy, why do you want to tell me anything?"

The Bat winced and chuckled. "What an unfortunate opening question. I'm afraid I'll have to reserve that one for last. Anything else?"

"Yeah. What is Dead Heaven?"

"Ooh, that's it, is it? Fine, I'll give you some tiny details."

The Bat flipped off the catwalk and landed on the shore, fifteen feet away from Snake. He sat Indian-style and tilted his head back, mouth agape. He looked like he was meditating.

"Dead Heaven," he began, "is the codename Ocelot has given to the project he is working on here. Suffice it to say that, he is not quite pleased with how the Patriots have been treating him lately. Even with all of his successes, he feels they haven't given him enough recognition. Dead Heaven is his last ditch effort to gain favor with them. He wants to be on the Wiseman's Council."

"I thought the Wisemen were all dead?"

"The original ones are. But a new group of them recently decided to form up. Problem is, Ocelot was not chosen to be on the council, and this has angered him quite a bit."

"When was all of this?"

"About four years ago. After Ocelot's success at the Big Shell, he felt he more than deserved to be one of the true leaders of America. When they turned him down, he feverishly started to devise a final solution to the problem. Something that would put them in a position where they had no choice but to accept him."

"What did he do?"

"He poisoned one of the older Wisemen. That particular man lies dying even as Ocelot works out his master plan here. Once he lies dead, the Council will need a new member. Dead Heaven is expected to be executed the hour the Wiseman dies, and it's predicted success will make Ocelot the only one for the job."

"You know that he deliberately poisoned a Wiseman? I though The Fallen were loyal to them. So why don't you rat him out?"

"I could. But truth be told, that would spoil what I have planned for as well."

"What-"

"As I said, all in good time. Now then, do you have another question?"

"Tell me the specifics of Dead Heaven."

The Bat smiled and got back to his feet.

"You know of the "Treason Incident" that occurred two years ago, correct?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, Ocelot is planning to hunt down everyone who learned anything from that incident and eliminate them. Their continued existence is a threat to the Patriot's secrecy."

"I don't get it. If they know who these people are, wouldn't they just send assassins like you guys to wipe them out?"

"You didn't let me finish Snake. The deaths of those who know too much is only Phase 1. Unfortunately, I must admit that I...I don't know the exact details of Phase 2. I just know that it's bad."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Just that. I'm a mercenary, remember? Need to know basis. In fact, I learned most of what I know by snooping around."

"You still haven't told me why you're helping me."

The Bat laughed, and something about the way he did it make Snake shudder.

"Very well. I think it's time I revealed something to you. I just hope the shock doesn't kill you."

Still chuckling, The Bat lifted up and grabbed the bandages around his head. He ripped them off to reveal his clouded over, blind eyes.

"Why are you-" Snake began, but The Bat lifted up a hand to silence him. And then, The Bat reached into his eyes and pulled something out. Snake saw the milky white glaze disappear as The Bat's blue eyes appeared, clear as a sky. He wasn't really blind. He had been wearing clouded contacts.

And he didn't seem to be done. He reached up and grabbed something under the collar of his trench coat. It looked like a bug or tap of some kind, except that, when he ripped it away, it drew a line of blood from his neck. It had been in his throat for some reason, and he now reached into his pocket and drew out a white cloth, which he used to quickly block off his bleeding throat.

He reached behind his head with his other hand and pulled at something in his hair. And suddenly, it tumbled down, revealing that it actually went a bit below his shoulders.

Finally, The Bat pinched the skin between his right cheek and ear, and pulled. And to Snake's astonishment, his face actually peeled away!

"What the hell?" Snake exclaimed. It was then he saw, however, that there was in fact another face behind the first. The first one had been a lifelike latex mask, which "The Bat" dropped to the floor. He took several breaths, and Snake finally saw this man's true face. He could not believe it.

"You..." Snake gasped.

"Hello Snake," the man replied in his true voice, a deep Romanian one. Beyond all possibility, Snake could not deny it. The man standing in front of him, smiling devilishly despite his profusely bleeding neck, was non other than Vamp.

_**Vamp (Phil LaMarr)**_

End Note: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

R&R! I NEED THE THEORIES!


	19. Chapter 18: Vamp

1Metal Gear Solid 4

Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 18: Vamp

Snake raised the AK again, pointing it right at Vamp's head. He couldn't believe it. This bastard was still alive?

"What are you doing here?" Snake demanded. Vamp smiled and cracked his neck, before wincing from the wound in his throat.

"What, you aren't happy to see me? Snake, I'm hurt."

"Shut up. Tell me what the hell's going on."

Vamp groaned. He removed the cloth, revealing that the wound had almost already healed itself.

"Very well, Snake. I am here on a personal vendetta, if you will. You see, Ocelot made the mistake of getting on my bad side five years ago. I'm sure you remember."

Snake did. Ocelot had double-crossed the Dead Cell members, revealing he had been playing them for fools in the Patriot's little experiment the whole time. He had then shot and killed Fortune, Dead Cell's then-current leader.

But that still didn't explain how Vamp was still alive. Although it retrospect, it wasn't very surprising. The man had survived being shot in the head twice, and Raiden had mentioned shooting him a few times and drowning him at one point on the Big Shell. The quickly healing neck wound was also testament to Vamp's unusual survival rate.

"So what, you want to get Ocelot? Well, too bad buddy. He's mine."

"I understand that. Which is why I'm afraid I have to help you."

Snake took a few seconds to realize what Vamp had just said.

"Help? You want to help me?"

"Precisely. There is no point in our useless fighting when we have a common enemy. I must kill Ocelot. That man does not deserve to live."

"Why should I trust you?" Snake asked. Vamp chuckled.

"You shouldn't. But I suggest you do. You have to admit, I would make a valuable asset."

Snake couldn't argue with that. Posing as The Bat, Vamp would be able to learn all kind of secrets that Ocelot kept. He had probably already gathered a suitable stockpile of information from his prior experience in The Fallen. But he still wasn't convinced.

"You killed Emma. She was my best friend's sister. Why should I give you the benefit of the doubt?"

"Oh yeah, about that. Tell your friend I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You think "sorry's" gonna cover it? You killed his sister!"

"And Ocelot killed mine! Helena...she was the closest thing to a sister I ever had...I killed that girl because I wanted to anger you Snake. I hated you because Helena did. We thought you had killed Scott. Our beloved Scott..."

Snake groaned. He didn't want to hear this now. He was running out of time. It didn't look like he had much of a choice. He would have to trust Vamp.

"Fine. Prove you want to help. Do you have a level six card?" Snake jerked his head toward the level 6 PAN door. Vamp reached into his trenchcoat and pulled out a small card.

"Right here. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't just give it to you."

"I knew it."

"Don't get me wrong, Snake, but I must keep my cover up. There are security cameras all over this room. We are being monitored by a select few I trust my true identity with. However, they still expect me to kill you. So, I'm afraid we must fight, if only this once."

Vamp ripped off the trenchcoat to reveal his well-muscled physique. He was carrying knives of all sorts on a belt around his waist. He also appeared to have what looked like sickles dangling from his hips. Snake didn't like where this was going.

"Don't worry Snake," Vamp said, smiling menacingly, "I have every confidence in you."

And then Vamp leapt into the lake. Snake shifted his aim to the lake, and searched for Vamp's silhouette, but it was nowhere to be found.

A column of water burst upward, and Vamp leapt out. He was holding a knife in each hand, and he hurled them in Snake's direction. Rolling out of the way, Snake returned fire as the knives hit the ground where he had been standing. However, Vamp had disappeared behind the railing, and Snake couldn't get a clear shot. He ran up the nearby metal stairs, onto the catwalk surrounding the lake. He could now see Vamp, who tossed another knife. Snake raised the AK and squeezed the trigger, skillfully blasting the blade out of mid-air. Vamp then dove off the platform back into the lake.

Snake got himself into a better position and waited for Vamp to emerge. He couldn't hold his breath forever. However, Snake found himself on the move again soon, as blades shot straight out of the water at him! Dodging them, he fired a burst into the lake, but was sure he missed.

Vamp suddenly appeared below the catwalk, and Snake had no time to react as he leapt up to Snake's level. Snake saw that he was now wielding one of the sickles in his right hand. Vamp lashed out, and Snake blocked two swings with the AK, before back flipping off the catwalk. Landing on the ground below, he put away the AK and drew his SOCOM. It would be better for a close fight.

Vamp jumped down after him, and the two engaged in a close-quarters duel. Gun vs. blades. Snake managed to dodge most of the attacks, but couldn't manage to shoot Vamp at all. He dodged every shot, looking almost as if he was dancing.

_This is useless,_ Snake thought. That's when he remembered the knife. It was all he could think of. He drew it and held it ready in his left hand. CQC was his only chance for victory.

Vamp attacked once more, but Snake blocked it with his own knife and returned with a side slash of his own. To his surprise, he managed to nick Vamp's side, and he cursed. Leaping backwards, Vamp drew the other sickle and tossed it. It spun through the air like a discus, and Snake fell prone to avoid it decapitating him. It buried itself in the far wall, and Snake leapt back to his feet.

He could see Vamp heading for the sickle to retrieve it. Snake took off, hoping to somehow beat him to it. Vamp tossed a knife to try and stop Snake, but he shot it out of the air without flinching. Vamp was going to reach it first regardless.

The Romanian grabbed the weapon and attacked Snake with both sickles. Snake flipped backwards, the blades whistling through the air just above his torso. His feet connected with Vamp's face, sending the ex-Dead Cell member flying through the air. He landed on his feet, as did Snake, and then he leapt back up onto the railing. He then put away the sickles, and bowed. Snake had a feeling the short fight was over.

"Snake, the cameras watching us have no audio," Vamp said as he raised himself to his full height, "so they won't hear this. I have a codec. My frequency is 180.69. Keep it in mind."

"Fine, now give me the card."

"I already did." As he said this, Vamp looked over at the ground near Snake's feet. Looking down, Snake saw the level 6 card laying right there.

"It would appear that I "accidentally" dropped my card in the heat of battle." Vamp smiled and slowly drew one of his knives. "Snake...make sure I look quite dead. Try your hardest, if you get my drift. And don't worry about it."

Snake wondered what he meant by this, but then it dawned on him. Vamp laughed and tossed the knife. Snake blasted it out of the air, took aim at Vamp's head, and pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into Vamp's head, hitting him just above the old bullet wound in his forehead. His eyes went wide with shock, but his smile didn't waver.

He went limp and tumbled from the railing, splashing into the lake. Snake ran to the water's edge and peered into the darkness, but Vamp's "corpse" was nowhere to be found. Grinning, Snake reloaded the SOCOM, and retrieved the PAN card. Approaching the level six door, he reequipped the AK. As the door slid open and Snake passed through, he couldn't help but feel that he hadn't seen the last of Vamp.

End Note: This chapter appeared rushed to me, and I'm sorry for that, but it's the end of the school year again and I'm pissed at the end of year exams. Summer, come quick...anyways, R&R!


	20. Chapter 19: Inside Man

1Author's Note: Just got back from Universal Studios Orlando. BEST THEME PARK IN THE WORLD! If you never ride JAWS, then you have wasted your life.

Also, I have something to say. I know how a lot of you are always begging me to get the next chapter up, and how I update slowly, and I can sympathize with that, really. I just figured I should let you all know the reason I update so slowly.

You see, while I'm pleasantly surprised that this story is so successful (over 100 reviews, man!), I feel a little bad that none of my other stories are getting as much attention. Most of them have either one or two reviews, or as many reviews as chapters. Some of them are just ignored completely. And it's not just here. I have many stories on that I really wish more people would read. So, I guess this is a promise. I promise that if you will read and review not only this story, but my other stories here and on (I am also known as Dark Sploosh there), then I promise to update faster and more regularly, not only this story, but the others as well. That is all I ask. Thank you, and enjoy this newest addition to Dead Heaven.

Metal Gear Solid 4

Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 19: Inside Man

Three silenced _thwips_ coughed from the end of the SOCOM, sending the three soldiers guarding the hall to the floor, dead. Snake stepped out from the shadows, looking up at the security camera. It's pre-set horizontal patrol had carried it off to the right, and so it hadn't seen the corpses yet. Just as well, as Snake could not afford to be caught now. He raised the SOCOM and blasted the camera. It sparked and smoked for a second, before slumping down, inactive.

Snake realized his SOCOM was empty, most of the bullets spent on his ascent up from the underground lake to where he was now. Reloading it, he looked around the corridor he was currently in. It was the first sign of modern technology Snake had seen in awhile. The previous room had been yet another path through the caves, so to find himself in a white hallway with green tiled floors and a security camera meant he must be making progress. Regardless, he still had no idea where the cellblock was from here, and no soliton radar. He figured he needed help from someone who already knew the place.

There were only two people he could call like that. One was Anya, assuming he could reach her codec in her prison cell. And then, if what he had been saying was true, Vamp. Snake wondered how long it would take the man to rise up again from his seemingly "fatal" wound, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't be much longer, if he hadn't already come back and redonned his Bat disguise.

Thinking it over, he decided that he should try Anya first, and so called her. There was no reply for a few seconds, but then Anya's voice floated through the codec into Snake's ear.

"Snake? Is that you?" Snake realized she was whispering. Meryl and her must have been under watch by a guard.

"Yeah, it's me. Where's Meryl, is she with you?"

"No, they put her in a separate cell, down the corridor from mine."

"Have you talked to her yet by codec?"

"Not yet, I was too worried about being caught. The guard's down by her cell right now, but when he comes back I have to stop talking to you."

"Alright then, Anya, I need your help to find the cellblock."

"My help?"

"Yeah, look, I just came out of the caves leading up from the reservoir. I'm in the first real hallway of the mountain facility. Where is the cellblock from my position."

"Okay, um, let me think..." A few seconds passed, and Snake hoped she could remember before the guard came back.

"Alright, let's see, the next room is a recreational lounge for the guards, so there might be a few of them there, so be careful. There's three other ways out of that room. Take the door on the left, it's a stairwell. Take the stairs all the way down to the bottommost level. The cellblock's down there. To get-oh shit, he's back!"

Snake heard the transmission cut dead, dismayed he hadn't managed to get the last part of her instruction. He figured he could at least find the cellblock for himself after he was downstairs. But first he contacted Meryl.

"Meryl, are you there?"

He heard the static sound of her transmission coming up, and then her voice, relieving his fears."

"Yeah Snake, I'm here."

"Are you okay? Did they do any-"

"No Snake, I'm fine." Snake felt good to hear that. He remembered back nine years ago when he had found Meryl barely alive on top of Metal Gear. She had mentioned that, while held prisoner there, she had been exposed to torture at Ocelot's hands, and "things even worse than that". She had never told him exactly what that meant, but he had a pretty good idea, and gave him just another reason to hate Ocelot.

"That's good. Meryl, I'm heading towards the cell block. I'm gonna' get you and Anya out of there."

"Wait Snake, listen. The cellblock is a level 7 security clearance area. And the only person with a level seven card, excluding Ocelot and whatever's left of the Fallen, is the guard on patrol here. He doesn't leave until his shift is over, at which point he opens the door for the next guard on duty and gives him the card."

"So I could disguise myself as one of the guards and relieve him of his duty. Then I-"

"No Snake, that won't work. Ocelot's apparently been more careful since Big Shell, because the level seven door to the cellblock is guarded by a security camera. The guard coming to start his shift must remove his mask and show his face to the camera to be let through. Then once on the other side, he must answer a code question posed to him by the guard. Finally, as the guard leaves and the new one takes his place, he must speak into a voice recognition device to confirm his identity. In short, there's no way in."

"Wait, what if I knew someone on the inside who could get in for me?"

"Snake, Anya's in here too, you know that."

"No not Anya, someone else."

"Who-Snake, the guard's coming, see ya!"

The transmission cut, and Snake thought about the plan he had just formed. It was probably his only shot. But first he had to get to the cellblock.

If what Anya said was true, then there was no way he could enter the next room without being spotted. So he would have to do this gung-ho style.

He ran at the level 6 door, and as it slid open, he raised the SOCOM. In a split second, he had spotted the four guards in the room and figured out what to do. There was one laying on a busted up sofa, having a smoke. Two of them were playing foosball, and the last one was slumped up against the wall, nodding off. Snake saw their heads start to turn towards the sound of the opening door. But turning was as far as they got.

Snake fired a shot into the skull of the man on the couch, then shifted his aim, putting two bullet each in the chests of the men at the foosball table. However, Snake had underestimated the snoozing guard, as he had immediately snapped to attention, drawn his assault rifle, and fired. Snake dove to the floor, sliding into the corpse of one of the foosball players. The foosball table would take a couple shots, but anyone of them could go all the way through and end Snake's life right there. Luckily, the guard was too stupid to get down on his knees and fire under the table. It was this incompetence that gave Snake his opportunity. Grabbing the other dead foosball player and lifting him up, Snake put his foot against the corpse's back, and kicked as hard as he could. The body went upright, flying through the air, before being riddled with bullets. Snake's plan had worked. The guard had fired at the corpse thinking it had been Snake. But now, the real Snake dove out from cover, sliding along the tile, firing two bullets into the man's knees. He collapsed, screaming in agony, before Snake ended his life with one bullet between the eyes.

Snake got himself to his feet, gasping for breath. Maybe he was getting too old for this kind of thing. He thought about FOXDIE, and realized that more strenuous activity such as this might bring on another heart attack, and the end of his life. He had to be more careful.

Stepping through the door on the left, Snake took the stairs down as far as he could. No doubt someone would be coming to check on the source of the gunshots, and once they found those bodies, the building would be on high alert. He would have been more careful, but if his plan went well, he would just have to stay hidden while all the hard work was done for him. It was the only way anyway.

Once on the lowest level, Snake found himself in a long hallway. There were only two doors, and one was marked level 7. A camera watched over it. That was the entrance to the cellblock.

Snake decided it was time to put his plan into action. He contacted the radio frequency that Vamp had given him.

"Hello, Vamp, is that you?" he said. The response came in the form of The Bat's high pitched voice. At least Vamp had successfully switched back to his disguise.

"Hee hee, nooooo, this is THE BAT! Whoooooooo is VAMP?"

"Cut the crap, Vamp. It's Snake, I need your help."

"Hee hee, help? I think I was the one who asked YOU for help!"

"If you don't help me out here, I won't help you get Ocelot."

"Oooh, that's mean!"

Snake groaned. Did Vamp really have to keep up this charade over the codec?

"Look, are you gonna' help me or not?"

"Oh, fine. What do you need?"

"I need into the cellblock. Apparently The Fallen have level seven keys. I need you get into the cellblock and save Anya and Meryl for me."

"What what what? Now listen here, I can get in there no sweat, but what excuse could I use to remove them from their cells?"

"Well, why are they locked up? Did you capture them on Ocelot's orders or The Dragon's?"

"Ocelot's, why?"

"Earlier I heard you talking to The Dragon. He called you Nicholas and you called him Raoul. Are you guys buddies or something?"

"Well, yes, you could say that The Bat has a bit of personal pull with The Dragon. The Bat's second-in-command, as it were, and yes, they are friends."

Vamp was referring to The Bat in the third person now. He was taking things seriously again.

"So, convince The Dragon to let them go. Technically his authority does override Ocelot's."

"True, but if I simply approached The Dragon and said "Let them go," things would look suspicious, now wouldn't they?"

"Look, can you just think of something?"

"Very well, Snake. Just remember, _I_ get Ocelot when the time comes, not you, got it?"

"Sure, just go, I don't have a lot of time."

"Goodbye, Snake."

The transmission ended, and Snake decided that all he could do now is wait, and hope Vamp came through for him.

End Note: Okay, R&Rs, theories, all that stuff I love, etc etc...


	21. Chapter 20: Trust Me

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 20: Trust Me

Snake found himself nodding off. He shook his head, knowing he couldn't fall asleep. Regardless, he could feel his eyelids drooping, and whenever he opened his eyes, they stung. He was sure they were red from lack of sleep by now. His age _was _catching up with him.

It had been roughly fifteen minutes since Snake had contacted Vamp with his plan. He was starting to get worried that Vamp wouldn't come through. He considered calling Vamp again, but decided to give the Romanian five more minutes. Besides, he was getting sick of hiding in the locker.

It had been the best hiding spot around. Which wasn't saying much. If he had a cardboard box he could have sat down in the corner, and there would have been less chance of his being discovered. They were boxes everywhere in this particular hallway, but they were all full, and he couldn't waste time emptying the contents of one simply for a hiding place. So the locker had to do.

The sound of the codec beeping surprised Snake after the long minutes of dead silence. He answered it, hoping it was Vamp with good news. But it was Raiden instead.

"Snake, it's Raiden."

"Raiden? Where are you?"

"Inside the mountain complex. I made it in after climbing up the mountain's exterior. How about you?"

"I'm in too. Those caves took a little longer to navigate than I had hoped." Snake considered whether he should tell Raiden about Vamp. He decided to save it until they were talking face to face.

"Did you run into any more of The Fallen?" Raiden asked.

"Yeah, The Bat. I...I killed him. You?"

"No, the last one I dealt with The Shark back on the lake. He's dead, as far as I know."

"You killed him? Hm, I'm impressed. I figured he just retreated."

"Are you trying to say something about my ability?"

"Heh, no, not at all."

"Right. But Snake, there was this other guy. He wasn't a Fallen member, as far as I could tell."

"Who?" Snake wondered aloud.

"I didn't get close enough to see him. He was shooting at me with a sniper rifle from a cliff on the mountain. I found one of my own and got him in the arm. He got away."

"How do you know he wasn't just some random guard with a rifle?"

"Because he contacted me by codec before he attacked. He called himself Loki."

_Loki._

The guy who had called to warn them about the sharks in the lake. So he was somewhere in the complex. And he seemed to be playing the role of third party here. He had attacked Raiden, but helped them on the lake. Why did it seem there was always someone like him whenever Snake was on one of these missions?

"Loki? Well, let me know if he calls you again, okay?"

"Sure Snake. Well, anyway, I'm stuck on the 3rd floor of the building," Raiden informed him. "The elevator in this building is PAN activated, and it's level six."

"I have a level six card. I can come up there to open the elevator for you."

"Okay. Have you found Meryl and Anya?"

"Yeah. Their in the cellblock down here on the lowest floor of the building. But there's no way inside the cellblock. Security is tight."

"So how are we getting in?"

"Well...I'm working on it. In the meantime, I'll see about opening that elevator for you. I have time to kill."

"Right. See you soon."

Snake ended the transmission and then slowly opened the locker door. There was no one around, so he closed it and headed for the stairwell. Vamp was taking too long. Snake couldn't sit around waiting for him. And once Snake had reunited with Raiden, maybe they could come up with another way into the cellblock. Anything was better than waiting around here.

He proceeded up to the 1st floor and back into the rec room. The bodies were gone, which meant they had been discovered. The guards would be more alert now, but Snake didn't care. It didn't matter much at this point. Assuming Vamp got Meryl and Anya out of their cells, all Snake had to do was find Ocelot. If Vamp had to kill him himself, fair enough. Then they just had to get out of there.

But he knew it wasn't really that simple. The Dragon and The Firefly were still alive, and they would likely have to be dealt with. And then there was Dead Heaven. If Vamp was to be believed, it wasn't very good, and they would have to stop it before escaping. But they still knew very little about it. Hopefully, Vamp would unearth more info, and soon.

Snake soon reached the elevator, and it opened as he approached. Pressing the button for the third floor, he suddenly realized that all the guards on that floor had been gone. Shouldn't there have been even more than usual since they had found those dead guards? It didn't make since. Unless...

Snake figured it out too late. The moment the elevator doors opened, he found himself face to face with no less than twenty guards, all pointing their rifles at his face.

"DROP IT!" they all barked in unison, and Snake realized he had messed up. Badly. There had been a time when he would have been more careful. He would have hidden those bodies so they hadn't been found. But he wanted to get to Meryl as fast as he could, and he had messed up.

He dropped the SOCOM, and as it clattered to the floor, he saw the guards start to make way for someone. It was The Dragon, walking calmly towards Snake with a look of smug satisfaction.

"Well, Solid Snake. I'm disappointed, you're supposed to be good at this stealth thing. At least Ocelot seems to think so."

"Really?" Snake said, trying to not look defeated, "well, tell him I'm flattered."

The Dragon chuckled before reaching up to touch his ear. A codec.

"Sister," he said, "we've got Snake. You can return to the heliport. Get the helicopter ready. Once we've dealt with him, we'll be up there to leave with you."

Snake could not hear The Firefly's response of course, but The Dragon responded with "Very well. See you soon."

Moving his hand from his ear to his pocket, The Dragon deeply inhaled.

"You have no idea how helpful you've been, Nicholas."

It was then that Snake saw The Bat (or rather, Vamp) standing behind The Dragon and smiling.

"Heh, sure boss, anytime."

"You! You bas-" Snake did not get his chance to curse at Vamp for selling him out, for at that moment The Bat burst forward and jammed his knee into Snake's stomach. Doubling over, Snake violently coughed, before The Bat grabbed his throat and threw him against the elevator wall. He leaned over and whispered in Snake's ear, "Don't ruin this for us, Snake. Trust me."

Before Snake could think about that at all, Vamp grabbed his neck and pinched. A horrible pain shot throughout Snake's body before he crumpled, falling into unconsciousness.

End Note: In case anyone's thinking "What? The Shark's dead? And we never got to see him fight? WTF?" Well, let's just say...trust me on this one. Anyway, R&R.


	22. Chapter 21: Promises

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 21: Promises

When Snake came to, he was lying on the floor of a small room. It was dark and smelled like disinfectant. He tried to get to his feet, but his muscles were all tensed up. He took and few deep breaths and they began to loosen up, so while they did that, he tried to figure out where he was. Which wasn't that hard. He could only be in the cell block. Which meant Ocelot, or The Fallen, or whoever needed him alive for some reason. Snake had a feeling that, if Ocelot had been in charge, he would be dead by now. Well, that's one good thing The Fallen had done for him these last two days.

How long had he been out? He wasn't tired anymore, other than common waking drowsiness, so it must have been awhile. He vaguely remembered that he had been going to give Raiden access to the elevator, and that's when he had been caught. And he remembered that it had Vamp who had sold him out. He never should have trusted him.

Except that that was exactly what Vamp had whispered before Snake had found himself lying on the cell floor. Did Vamp really have a more complicated plan? It was possible. Snake remembered, back during Big Shell, when he and Olga had knocked Raiden unconscious to get him aboard Arsenal Gear. So, maybe he hadn't messed up as bad as he thought.

His codec beeped. Snake answered it quickly.

"Snake? Are you there?" It was Otacon, and Snake was relieved to hear his friend's voice.

"I'm here," Snake said tiredly. Otacon sighed.

"Thank goodness. We were really worried you had died or something."

"You know me. I always seem to get tossed into a cell at some point or another."

"You've been captured? Oh boy, that's bad."

"Maybe not. Vamp was the one who got me caught, but I think it's part of his plan."

"What? Vamp?!?"

Oh crap. Snake had forgotten that Otacon didn't know about his alliance with Vamp. Snake had never intended on telling him, if he didn't have to. Otacon was probably the last person on Earth who would agree with working with Vamp. After what Vamp did to Emma, Snake really couldn't blame his friend. But now there was no taking it back.

"Yeah. Otacon, listen to me. Vamp is still alive. He's The Bat. And he says he wants to help me get Ocelot for screwing over Dead Cell. And I think I believe him."

"Snake, you can't trust that bastard!" Otacon shouted. It was always odd to hear the often meek Otacon raise his voice, but it hurt Snake all the same. He knew how much Otacon had loved his sister. It was just unfortunate that circumstances had brought them to this point.

"I have no choice Hal," Snake said bluntly. "Vamp got me thrown in here, yeah, but I know how much he must hate Ocelot, so I think this is all his plan to help us. And I know it doesn't mean anything, but he says he's sorry about Emma. He killed her because he thought I killed Scott Dolph, remember? It was-"

"How can you try and rationalize what he did? He murdered her! She's dead dammit! E.E.'s dead and he murdered her!"

Snake could hear his friend's voice beginning to break, and he knew he couldn't keep going on about this. There was no time.

"Hal, look, I'm sorry about E.E., but I'm going to trust Vamp right now. We have to find out what Dead Heaven is and stop it. And I need both you and Vamp to do that. Now can you promise me you won't let your hatred get in the way of this mission?"

Otacon didn't respond.

"Promise me!"

"I...alright, Snake. I promise that I'll help. But...I just can't forgive him!"

"No one said you had to. And you shouldn't. But there's too much riding on this for you to forget Philanthropy's duties to the people just because of a grudge."

"I understand."

Snake sighed. At least now that was out of the way, so he could focus on getting out of there.

"How long have I been gone?" Snake asked.

"About twelve hours. We were really worried."

"Twelve hours? Dammit, Ocelot might have finished whatever he was planning in that time!"

"Well, if it was anything major, it hasn't happened yet. I haven't gotten any reports of any terrorist attacks or nukes going off anywhere."

That was good. Maybe they still had time to stop Ocelot.

"Alright, good. Otacon, I'll talk to you later. I need to contact a few other people right now."

"Bye Snake. Be careful."

Snake ended the call, and then contacted Raiden.

"Raiden, it's Snake. Where are you?"

"Snake? Are you alright? You've been out forever."

"I'm fine, but I've been captured."

"Yeah, I know. When I went to the elevator to wait for you, I saw that it was surrounded by guards. I hid and tried to call you to warn you, but something was jamming my codec."

"Well, thanks anyway. Where are you now?"

"Actually, not that far away. I'm heading down to the cellblock right now."

"You got a level six card?"

"Yeah. The Bat dropped it when The Dragon took you off to the cellblock, so I picked it up. I wanted to make sure you were conscious when I went to save you though, so you could help from the inside."

Just 'dropped' the card, huh? Looked like Vamp had been serious when he offered to help. That made Snake feel a little better, but it didn't change the fact that he was still locked in this cell.

"How do you plan on getting us out of here?" Snake asked. Raiden chuckled.

"C'mon Snake. I'm a ninja now, remember?"

"You really shouldn't joke in a time like this."

"I know, it's just that I've been feeling really good ever since I came here."

"What's there to feel good about?"

"I dunno. I guess I just missed being in the field. I mean, I guess it's still from my days as a child soldier, but still."

"I thought you didn't like talking about those days?"

"I don't really. But I can't just forget about it either."

"I guess." He felt like he should say something else. "So, how are Rose and the baby?"

"They're fine. We got ourselves a pretty nice house in Queens. I kind of wish we lived somewhere less noisy, but it's a pretty nice neighborhood."

"That's good." Snake was genuinely happy for the younger agent. After what had happened to him at Big Shell, he really deserved a quieter life. But he, like Snake, couldn't stand for a life like that. So he had joined Philanthropy, although as a part time member so he could help raise the baby. It was like Liquid had said. Warriors never stopped being warriors. It was sad, but it was true, too.

"You gotta' get out of this Raiden, you hear me?"

"Hey Snake, what's with you all of a sudden?"

"It's just...I dunno. I guess since I don't have a kid it's not that important to me, but you do. It's your responsibility to that kid to survive this. Will you promise me that after this you'll quit Philanthropy?"

"Quit? Snake, you can't just-"

"Raiden, think about it. I'm sterile, I'll never have a kid. And it's better that way. The last thing the world needs is another Big Boss or Solid Snake. It's politicians who start wars, but it's warriors like us and Liquid who keep them going. In truth, the world would better without me."

"Don't be so nihilistic." Raiden sounded concerned, but Snake paid no mind.

"You can raise your kid to stay away from violence and bloodshed Raiden. That's your responsibility to the future generation, remember?"

"...yeah."

"But if you aren't around, he might grow up to just keep war going. It doesn't matter if he does it like the Patriots, or like Liquid. It's still war. We have to stop the bloodshed here. We have to kill Ocelot, and stop Dead Heaven. And then we need to make sure people like them never come about again."

"Alright Snake. It's okay anyway. I really only joined Philanthropy to fulfill my promise to Olga."

"So let's get Anya out of here. Let's all get out of here."

"Yeah. Alright Snake, I'll spring you guys loose in a minute. Hold on."

Then the conversation ended. Snake sighed and fell back against the floor. He hadn't yet told Raiden about FOXDIE. That was the real reason Snake had been so insistent on Raiden surviving. Chances were Snake would be dead soon, and Raiden would have to finish things for him. Just as well really. The lineage of the "Greatest Soldier to Ever Live" had to end. Snake hoped he would be able to finish this before that happened, but...

No use worrying about it. He yawned, and then sat up, fully alert. As soon as Raiden got them out of there, they had to end it. He would make sure that Ocelot and Liquid didn't leave this complex alive. He would make sure that, no matter what happened, the warriors who perpetuated the cycle of murder and warfare never came to be again.

It was time to end it.

End Note: I'm back. With more chapters of mostly-dialogue. I'm so lame right now...oh well, R&R.


	23. Chapter 22: The Greatest Country

Metal Gear Solid 4  
Dead Heaven

By Dark Sploosh

Chapter 22: The Greatest Country in the World

It was unfortunate then that, at that moment, in another room on the upper level of the mountain complex, Anya was being "interrogated" by Ocelot.

"AHHH!!!" she screamed as Ocelot sent a surge of electricity through her body. It was only five seconds, but it was horrible enough. When the current ceased, she was already beginning to cry. Ocelot wasn't surprised. She hadn't yet been taught how to resist torture. Lucky him.

"Alright dear," Ocelot said as he turned to face her. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and agony on her face. It was quite beautiful. "I know you've been helping Snake and whoever else has infiltrated this complex. What are they doing here?"

"Don't...don't you know?" Anya struggled to mutter. Ocelot felt momentarily embarrassment, because he in fact didn't know. Fact was, The Fallen wouldn't tell him. It was so damn annoying. Everything had been going so well, and then, for some reason, the Patriots decided to send their best boys with him at the last minute. Like they didn't trust him anymore or something. So The Dragon was officially in charge here, and he had been overriding Ocelot's authority ever since things started going wrong. Did Snake know about Dead Heaven? If so, how much? Or was he just here for this girl?

True, that was the reason they had had her there. Once Snake found her, he had orders to eliminate him. He had left it up to his apprentice, but Dog had failed somehow. And then that spectacular failure with the Gustav...

"You know, I really think you aren't trying hard enough," Ocelot said. Scoffing, the person he was talking to emerged from the shadows.

"Sorry boss, excuse me if a freakin' ninja fell out of the sky and destroyed my guns."

"No excuses Dog!" Ocelot shouted, whirling to face his apprentice. Dog averted his eyes, refusing to admit he _had_ messed up. Ocelot turned away in disgust. It wasn't exactly fair, of course. Ocelot had been a lot like Dog when he was that age, but he grew out of it. Got experienced.

_Experience, huh?_ Ocelot thought. He looked over at the suffering girl strapped to the torture table, and then back at his apprentice. Well, no time like the present.

"Dog, you know how to work this thing?" he asked. Dog looked at the panel with the buttons and dials on it like it was an alien object.

"No. You won't teach me."

"Well, how about you get your first lesson?" He smiled, making sure Anya saw it, and then chuckled in pleasure when he saw her begin to sob. Poor bitch.

Dog approached the panel apprehensively, and started messing with random buttons. Ocelot sighed with the annoyance of one who knows too much about what they teach for their own good.

"You press the blue button to start it up," Ocelot offered. Dog went to do that, but before he did, his wrist accidentally pushed the dial up a few notches. Ocelot noticed it too late.

"Wait you idiot!" he shouted, but Dog had already pressed the switch. A tiny _beep_ later, and the sound of electricity frying flesh buzzed from the machine, followed and deafened instantly by the screams of pain and terror of Anya.

"Shut it off! The red button!" Ocelot shouted. Dog seemed to forget what was going on for a moment, just standing there without responding. Growling in frustration, Ocelot shoved Dog out of the way and shut off the machine. The electricity died, but Anya continue to scream and cry. Under normal circumstances Ocelot would have taken a few moments to enjoy those sounds, but this wasn't normal.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Ocelot demanded furiously. Dog shrugged.

"It was an accident."

"An accident? That much power could have killed Snake! Let alone a child! She can't die if Dead Heaven is to be a success!"

"Well excuse me Mr. Perfect," Dog muttered, continuing to avoid eye contact with his mentor. Cursing, Ocelot turned back to Anya and undid the straps holding her to the machine. She had fallen unconscious from the stress, but she was otherwise okay. Good. If she died, the whole plan was ruined. The Fallen didn't exactly seem to appreciate this though. Ocelot had heard they had sent attack boats after Snake earlier. They could have killed the girl! Did they not care about this project's success?

Of course they did, just not as much as Ocelot did. For them, it signified a tiny victory against their few remaining enemies, and a slightly greater extension of their power. But for Ocelot, it was the rest of his life riding on this. Not to mention his honor.

Ocelot shoved Anya's motionless body into Dog's arms. Dog stared down at her in complete apathy.

"Take her back to the cells," Ocelot ordered. Dog mumbled something inaudible, hefted Anya over his shoulder, and then left the room through the Level 7 PAN door. Ocelot knew he had to be hard on that boy if he was going to be a great Patriot agent one day. All for those old men and their ideals...

Damn them. Ocelot loved this country as much as he claimed, but the way those old bastards treated him, it was like a worthless pawn! Years ago he had been their most valuable agent! The Virtuous Mission, Operation Snake Eater, all of it...he had been behind their successes. But now?

Shadow Moses was where he had first noticed it. Sending him to work for Solidus, and then being sent in just to get REX's data. It would have been normal, except for the fact that he had lost his arm. And the Patriots had refused to have his arm operated on! Because of them, he had to have Solidus pay for the operation. Not to mention the Patriots, once they didn't have to fund the procedure, were more than willing to force Ocelot to use Liquid's arm rather than his own. Did they know Liquid would be able to come back? Of course they did. They of all people knew about his father...

He had only found out himself last year. The last time he visited the Wiseman's Committee, he broke into a few of their files and discovered some fairly interested things about himself they had never told him. Specifically about his parents. His father a medium for the dead, and his mother the greatest warrior in the world before Big Boss. It had been surprising, especially since Ocelot realized he had in fact met with, worked with, and talked to his mother during Operation Snake Eater without even knowing it. He didn't particularly care or anything, it was just interesting.

And his father's powers. Reading about ESP, channeling the dead, all of it. It made so much sense. As far as Ocelot could tell, he had inherited some of his father's ability, but he couldn't control it for some reason. And somehow, Liquid was using his arm as the medium to channel his spirit into Ocelot's body. He had read up on every book he could find on the subject, even hired an exorcist, but nothing had worked. Liquid kept coming back, and worse yet, he couldn't remember most of anything he did while under Liquid's influence, other than bits and pieces. And the Patriots planned it. It couldn't be a coincidence.

But why? Liquid was their enemy. Why did they want him to still be alive in some way? Ocelot wasn't sure he could trust the Patriots anymore. So he was backstabbing them. Sort of. The new Wiseman's Committee was corrupt. They only cared about their own pockets, not the glory of their country. GW? The censorship of digital information? It had been so pointless. Even as Ocelot had gone along with it, he had never liked the idea. So sue him, he liked parts of the Constitution intact. And he hadn't worked for them this long only to see it all fall apart because the Patriots' greed had gotten the better of them. No.

This was the end of those ridiculous old men. Ocelot would make sure from now on, the Patriots did what their duty was to their country. Keep it running, and keep the people happy. Weren't they supposed to be the greatest country in the world? So why was the Philosopher's Legacy constantly being squandered on these meaningless wars? More excuses to manufacture Metal Gears? Keep oil money and the like flowing in? What a waste of their great gift.

Well, no more. Once Dead Heaven succeeded, Ocelot would see the end of the Wisemen's Committee once and for all. And then he would make sure this country got back on track. No more of this needless sullying of the country's reputation. Fear was not respect. He would save this country and make it the greatest in the world once more.

Only three hours left until they proceeded with the plan. Ocelot shuddered in anticipation, and then contacted The Dragon to inform him of Anya's condition.

End Note: Damn, once more, nothing happens in this chapter. Suffice it to say it's really late right now, and I'm lazy. Well, enjoy this much for now, and R&R...


End file.
